Adiponectin – journey from an adipocyte secretory protein to biomarker of the metabolic syndrome

Abstract. Adiponectin is an adipocyte‐derived hormone that was discovered in 1995. Unlike leptin, which was identified around the same time, the clinical relevance of adiponectin remained obscure for a number of years. However, starting in 2001, several studies were published from different laboratories that highlighted the potential antidiabetic, antiatherosclerotic and anti‐inflammatory properties of this protein complex. Methods to measure the protein with high throughput assays in clinical samples were developed shortly thereafter, and as a result hundreds of clinical studies have been published over the past 3 years describing the role of adiponectin in endocrine and metabolic dysfunction. Furthermore, adiponectin research has expanded to include a role for adiponectin in cancer and other disease areas. Although it is an impossible task to summarize the findings from all these studies in a single review, we aim to demonstrate the utility of circulating adiponectin as a biomarker of the metabolic syndrome. Evidence for this relationship will include how decreased levels of plasma adiponectin (‘hypoadiponectinaemia’) are associated with increased body mass index (BMI), decreased insulin sensitivity, less favourable plasma lipid profiles, increased levels of inflammatory markers and increased risk for the development of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, adiponectin levels hold great promise for use in clinical application serving as a potent indicator of underlying metabolic complications.