Original articleIncreased levels of chemerin and its receptor, chemokine-like receptor-1, in obesity are related to inflammation: tumor necrosis factor-α stimulates mRNA levels of chemerin in visceral adipocytes from obese patients
Section snippets
Methods
For a detailed description of the research design and methods of the present study, see the Supplemental Methods section.
Circulating levels of chemerin are increased in human obesity: effect of weight loss
The biochemical and hormonal characteristics of the subjects included in the present study are listed in Table 1. The obese patients had a significantly greater (P < .001) BMI, BF, waist circumference, and WHR compared with the lean volunteers. The obese patients exhibited lower insulin sensitivity than the lean participants as evidenced by the higher homeostatic model of assessment (P = .002) and lower quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (P < .001). Circulating concentrations of
Discussion
Despite the growing understanding of adipose biology, the precise role of the players involved in energy homeostasis and the regulation of obesity-related co-morbidities still needs to be disentangled [21]. Compelling evidence points to the fact that excess VAT accumulation dysregulates the adipokine secretion profile. Chemerin is an adipokine reportedly involved in a large number of cellular functions, such as the immune and inflammatory responses, adipocyte metabolism, or energy homeostasis.
Conclusion
The increased levels of chemerin in human obesity might represent a link between obesity-associated changes in adipose tissue and a greater risk of metabolic diseases. Furthermore, chemerin displaying a role as a chemoattractant protein, together with its receptor CMKLR1, might influence the cross-talk between adipocytes and macrophages pivotal for controlling the initiation and progression of inflammation in the obese state or in situations in which the adequate threshold between the fat mass
Disclosures
The authors have no commercial associations that might be a conflict of interest in relation to this article.
Acknowledgment
We gratefully acknowledge the valuable collaboration of all the members of the Multidisciplinary Obesity Team, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN) is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
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Supported by FIS PI09/02330 from the Spanish Instituto de Salud Carlos III, by the Department of Health (20/2005 and 3/2006) of the Gobierno de Navarra of Spain and by PIUNA (2009–2011) of the University of Navarra.