Adiponectin signaling and metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of several serious metabolic disorders, including obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A class of drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) has been used for treatment of metabolic syndrome; however, TZDs also show side effects. Therefore, additional alternative medications that are both effective and safe for the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome are a big challenge for us. Adiponectin is exclusively expressed and secreted from adipocyte, and it has been proved as one thiazolidinediones with antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antiatherogenic properties for metabolic syndrome. Studies conducted in human and animal models of metabolic diseases have clearly demonstrated that adiponectin and adiponectin receptors as well as the signaling pathways involved can indeed have beneficial effects on these metabolic disorders. The use of macrophage cells as carriers for adiponectin and its receptors will provide a novel and unique strategy for studying the actions of adiponectin in vivo, and it also serves as a potential innovative therapeutic approach for treatment of metabolic syndrome in the future.