Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026
Isolation, Expansion, and Adipogenic Induction of CD34+CD31+ Endothelial Cells from Human Omental and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue
Published on: July 17, 2018
Metabolic Profiling of Adiponectin Levels in Adults: Mendelian Randomization Analysis
Maria Carolina Borges1, Aluísio J D Barros2, Diana L Santos Ferreira2
1From the Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil (M.C.B., A.J.D.B., B.L.H., D.F.F., I.O.O.); MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (M.C.B., D.L.S.F., T.R.G., D.A.L.) and Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School (M.C.B., D.L.S.F., T.R.G., Y.B.-S., D.A.L.), University of Bristol, United Kingdom; Farr Institute of Health Informatics (J.P.C., A.D.H.), Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (M. Kivimaki, M. Kumari), Department of Women's Cancer, Institute for Women's Health, Faculty of Population Health Sciences (U.M., A.G.-M., E.F.), and Institute of Cardiovascular Science (A.D.H.), University College London, United Kingdom; Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, United Kingdom (M. Kumari); and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil (I.O.O.). m.c.borges@bristol.ac.uk.
Background:
Adiponectin, a circulating adipocyte-derived protein, has insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, and cardiomyocyte-protective properties in animal models. However, the systemic effects of adiponectin in humans are unknown. Our aims were to define the metabolic profile associated with higher blood adiponectin concentration and investigate whether variation in adiponectin concentration affects the systemic metabolic profile.
Methods And Results:
We applied multivariable regression in ≤5909 adults and Mendelian randomization (using cis-acting genetic variants in the vicinity of the adiponectin gene as instrumental variables) for analyzing the causal effect of adiponectin in the metabolic profile of ≤37 545 adults. Participants were largely European from 6 longitudinal studies and 1 genome-wide association consortium. In the multivariable regression analyses, higher circulating adiponectin was associated with higher high-density lipoprotein lipids and lower very-low-density lipoprotein lipids, glucose levels, branched-chain amino acids, and inflammatory markers. However, these findings were not supported by Mendelian randomization analyses for most metabolites. Findings were consistent between sexes and after excluding high-risk groups (defined by age and occurrence of previous cardiovascular event) and 1 study with admixed population.
Conclusions:
Our findings indicate that blood adiponectin concentration is more likely to be an epiphenomenon in the context of metabolic disease than a key determinant.
