CONTEXT

Human lipodystrophies are characterized by loss of adipose tissue, insulin resistance, and metabolic complications. The mechanisms linking fat loss to severe insulin resistance remain unclear. Adipokines may have important roles as intermediary players in metabolism.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to determine the plasma concentrations of leptin and adiponectin in patients with Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL) harboring mutations in the genes encoding either 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase-2 (AGPAT2) or BSCL2/seipin, in comparison with patients with other forms of inherited or acquired lipodystrophies or insulin receptor alterations.

DESIGN

Leptin and total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin were measured in plasma of 16 BSCL1/AGPAT2 and 19 BSCL2/seipin patients and compared with heterozygous (n = 22) or nonmutated relatives (controls, n = 30); patients with Dunnigan-type partial lipodystrophy due to lamin A/C mutations (n = 23), HIV-related lipodystrophy (n = 124), and insulin receptor dysfunctions caused by mutations or autoantibodies (n = 17).

RESULTS

Leptin was dramatically decreased in BSCL patients as compared with other subgroups. Adiponectin was decreased in BSCL as compared with controls and patients with altered insulin receptor but was discrepant between the two BSCL subgroups. Whereas total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin levels were almost undetectable in BSCL1/AGPAT2 patients, higher levels were detected in BSCL2/seipin patients, comparable with those of patients with partial lipodystrophy. Adiponectin greater than 1.6 mg/liter had a 100% negative predictive value for AGPAT2 mutations in inherited lipodystrophies.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of circulating adiponectin in BSCL2/seipin patients with near absence of adipose tissue outlines the complexity of adiponectin biology. Use of circulating adiponectin might be helpful to guide the genetic investigations in BSCL.