University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, 1 University of New Mexico, MSC 10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Curr Med Chem. 2012;19(32):5493-500. doi: 10.2174/092986712803833263.
Adiponectin is a predominantly anti-inflammatory protein produced by adipose tissue with possible signalling activity in the lung. It is increasingly associated with inflammatory pulmonary diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and in critical illness. Although mouse studies indicate causative associations between adiponectin and asthma and COPD, the human literature in this regard is inconclusive. Some, but not all, studies demonstrate that serum adiponectin concentrations are inversely associated with asthma prevalence among premenopausal women and peripubertal girls. On the other hand, serum adiponectin concentrations are associated with lower asthma severity among boys but greater severity among men. Further, case-control studies demonstrate higher systemic and airway adiponectin concentrations in primarily male COPD patients than controls. Systemic adiponectin is positively associated with lung function in healthy adults but inversely associated in studies of male subjects with COPD. Murine and human studies further show contradictory associations of systemic adiponectin with critical illness. Higher premorbid systemic adiponectin concentrations are associated with improved survival from sepsis in mice. On the other hand, higher systemic adiponectin concentrations on day 1 of critical illness are associated with lower survival in critically ill patients with respiratory failure. In the absence of adequate longitudinal data, it is not possible to determine whether the adiponectin derangements are the consequence or the cause of the disease studied. Future research will determine whether modulation of adiponectin, independent of BMI, may be helpful in the prevention or treatment of asthma, COPD or critical illness.
脂联素是一种主要由脂肪组织产生的抗炎蛋白，在肺部可能具有信号活性。它与炎症性肺部疾病（如哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD））以及危重病越来越相关。尽管小鼠研究表明脂联素与哮喘和 COPD 之间存在因果关系，但这方面的人类文献尚无定论。一些（但不是全部）研究表明，血清脂联素浓度与绝经前妇女和青春期前女孩哮喘的患病率呈负相关。另一方面，血清脂联素浓度与男孩哮喘严重程度较低有关，但与男性哮喘严重程度较高有关。此外，病例对照研究表明，主要为男性的 COPD 患者的全身和气道脂联素浓度高于对照组。全身脂联素与健康成年人的肺功能呈正相关，但在 COPD 男性患者的研究中呈负相关。鼠类和人类研究进一步表明，全身脂联素与危重病的关联存在矛盾。在小鼠中，较高的预先存在的全身脂联素浓度与脓毒症的生存改善有关。另一方面，在患有呼吸衰竭的危重病患者中，危重病第 1 天较高的全身脂联素浓度与较低的生存率有关。由于缺乏足够的纵向数据，无法确定脂联素紊乱是所研究疾病的结果还是原因。未来的研究将确定是否可以调节脂联素，而不考虑 BMI，这可能有助于预防或治疗哮喘、COPD 或危重病。
