Adiponectin expression in epicardial adipose tissue after percutaneous coronary intervention with bare-metal stent

The classical view of adipose tissue as a passive reservoir for energy storage is no longer valid. In the past decade, adipose tissue has been shown to have endocrine functions and the most abundant peptide secreted by adipocytes is adiponectin. Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) is distributed around coronary arteries and endovascular injury, caused by the presence of intracoronary bare-metal stent (BMS), could promote inflammatory changes in the periadvential fat, contributing to vascular restenosis.

We sought to determine gene expression of inflammatory mediator in pericardial adipose tissue after bare-metal stent implantation and vascular restenosis that had been referred to operative treatment.

Paired samples of PAT were harvested at the time of elective coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) in 11 patients (n = 22), one sample was obtained of the tissue around BMS area and another sample around coronary artery without stent. Local expression of adiponectin was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using Taq DNA polymerase.

In two samples, there was no gene expression of adiponectin. We are able to identify adiponectin in 20 samples, however, the pattern of gene expression were heterogeneous.We did not notice specificity when we compared PAT obtained near BMS area or far from BMS area.

There were no correlation between adiponectin gene expression and presence of BMS.