Serum adiponectin concentrations correlate with severity of rheumatoid arthritis evaluated by extent of joint destruction

Abstract

Adiponectin is a hormone released by adipose tissue with antidiabetic, antiatherogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The present observational study focused on the relation between serum adiponectin level and the disease severity of established rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ninety patients with more than 5-year diagnosis of RA and 42 age- and BMI-matched control were enrolled. The severity of RA was evaluated according to the number of destructed joints of overall 68 joints on plain radiographs (37 patients had mild RA and 53 had severe RA). Serum adiponectin level was significantly higher in the severe RA group (17.7+/-6.7 microg/ml) than in the control (9.1+/-3.8 microg/ml) and mild RA groups (13.9+/-6.5 microg/ml) (control vs. mild RA group, P<0.001; mild RA vs. severe RA group, P<0.01). These results suggest that increased number of joint destruction is associated with hyperadiponectinemia in established RA patients.

Adipocytokines as driving forces in rheumatoid arthritis and related inflammatory diseases?

“…Higher adiponectin levels were also detectable in erosive versus mild RA, and mean adiponectin levels did not significantly change during a followup period of 2.5 years (30). In addition, serum levels of adiponectin correlated with joint erosion (30,31), and plasma levels of adiponectin were higher in chronic RA compared with early RA (32). In some studies, however, plasma levels were shown to be lower than or similar to the levels in patients with OA, illustrating the problem of using systemic levels as an approximation of local levels of proinflammatory molecules (29,32).…”

“…Adiponectin serum levels are also increased in patients with RA compared with control subjects (29,30). Higher adiponectin levels were also detectable in erosive versus mild RA, and mean adiponectin levels did not significantly change during a followup period of 2.5 years (30).…”

“…Adiponectin serum levels are also increased in patients with RA compared with control subjects (29,30). Higher adiponectin levels were also detectable in erosive versus mild RA, and mean adiponectin levels did not significantly change during a followup period of 2.5 years (30). In addition, serum levels of adiponectin correlated with joint erosion (30,31), and plasma levels of adiponectin were higher in chronic RA compared with early RA (32).…”

Cardiometabolic comorbidities and rheumatic diseases: Focus on the role of fat mass and adipokines

“…Moreover, adiponectin levels are increased in early RA patients that had never taken disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and in chronic RA patients (82). Circulating adiponectin levels correlate with the severity of RA evaluated by joint destruction and radiographic damage (83,84). According to this, very recently it has been reported that adiponectin and adiponectin receptor 1 expression is higher in synovial fluids and the synovial tissues of RA patients compared to healthy controls (85).…”

Adipokines and Systemic Rheumatic Diseases: Linking Inflammation, Immunity and Metabolism

“…Of note, these discrepancies in the functions of adiponectin are linked to the level of oligomerization of the protein and opposite actions have been described for both low molecular weight and high molecular isoforms (Neumeier et al, 2006). Adiponectin levels in RA patients are higher than in healthy subjects (Otero M et al, 2006) and multiple studies correlated these adiponectin elevated levels with severity of RA (Ebina et al, 2009). Giles and collaborators identified a cross sectional association between serum adiponectin levels and radiographic damage in RA patients (Giles et al, 2009), suggesting that this adipokine may be a mediator of the paradoxical relationship between increasing adiposity and protection from radiographic damage in RA, due to adiponectin circulating levels decreasing as adiposity increases.…”