Relationship between twelve adipocytokines and distinct components of the metabolic syndrome

Objective Adipose tissue-derived signals potentially link obesity and adipose tissue dysfunction with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Although some adipocytokines have been closely related to metabolic and cardiovascular traits, it remains open which adipocytokine or adipocytokine cluster serve as meaningful marker of metabolic syndrome (MS) components. Therefore, this study investigates the associations of twelve adipocytokines with components of the MS to identify the most relevant cytokines potentially related to specific metabolic profiles. Research Design/Methods Twelve cytokines (adiponectin, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein [AFABP], angiopoietin-related growth factor, chemerin, fibroblast growth factor [FGF] 19, FGF21, FGF23, insulin-like growth factor-1, interleukin 10, irisin, progranulin, vaspin) were quantified in a cross-sectional cohort of 1046 subjects. Hypothesis-free cluster analysis, multivariate regression analyses with parameters of the MS, and discriminant analysis were performed to assess associations and the relative importance of each cytokine for reflecting MS and its components. Results Among the studied adipocytokines, adiponectin, AFABP, chemerin, and FGF21 showed the strongest associations with MS and several MS components in discriminant analyses and multiple regression models. For certain metabolic components, these adipocytokines were better discriminators than routine metabolic markers. Other cytokines investigated in the present cohort are less potent to discriminate between metabolically healthy and unhealthy subjects. Conclusions Adiponectin, AFABP, chemerin, and FGF21 show strongest associations with MS components in a general population suggesting that adverse adipose tissue function represents a major contributor to these metabolic abnormalities. Future prospective studies need to address the question whether these adipocytokines are able to predict the development of metabolic disease states.