Dimova Rumyana, Tankova Tsvetalina
Department of Diabetology, Clinical Centre of Endocrinology, Medical University, 2 Zdrave Street, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria.
Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:823481. doi: 10.1155/2015/823481. Epub 2015 Apr 6.
In recent years, most research efforts have been focused on studying insulin-sensitizing adipokines. One of the most recently discovered adipokines is vaspin, a visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor. Vaspin levels have been found significantly increased in mice with obesity and insulin resistance. It has been assumed that vaspin serves as an insulin sensitizer with anti-inflammatory effects and might act as a compensatory mechanism in response to decreased insulin sensitivity. Most studies in humans have shown a positive correlation between vaspin gene expression and serum levels, and metabolic syndrome parameters. Vaspin gene expression is influenced by age and gender, and the administration of insulin sensitizers enhances it in mice, whereas the use of metformin decreases serum vaspin levels in humans, probably due to different regulatory mechanisms. Presumably vaspin plays local and endocrine role in the development of initial and advanced atherosclerosis in obese subjects and might be used as a predictor of coronary and cerebrovascular disease. It is believed that vaspin could be regarded as a new link between obesity and related metabolic disorders, including glucose intolerance. The entire understanding of vaspin intimate mechanism of action might enable the development of novel etiology-based treatment strategies, targeting metabolic and glucose tolerance disorders.
近年来，大多数研究工作都集中在胰岛素增敏脂肪因子的研究上。vaspin是最近发现的脂肪因子之一，它是一种源自内脏脂肪组织的丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂。已发现肥胖和胰岛素抵抗小鼠的vaspin水平显著升高。据推测，vaspin作为一种具有抗炎作用的胰岛素增敏剂，可能是对胰岛素敏感性降低的一种代偿机制。大多数人体研究表明，vaspin基因表达与血清水平及代谢综合征参数之间呈正相关。vaspin基因表达受年龄和性别的影响，在小鼠中使用胰岛素增敏剂可增强其表达，而在人类中使用二甲双胍会降低血清vaspin水平，这可能是由于不同的调节机制所致。据推测，vaspin在肥胖受试者的早期和晚期动脉粥样硬化发展中发挥局部和内分泌作用，可能用作冠心病和脑血管疾病的预测指标。人们认为，vaspin可被视为肥胖与相关代谢紊乱（包括葡萄糖不耐受）之间的新联系。对vaspin确切作用机制的全面了解可能有助于开发针对代谢和葡萄糖耐量紊乱的新型病因学治疗策略。
