Vol.23 No.1

Original Article

Resistin is associated with the inflammation process in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases undergoing glucocorticoid therapy: comparison with leptin and adipon

Authors

Nahoko Tanaka1 , Natsuko Kusunoki1 , Yoshie Kusunoki1 , Tomoko Hasunuma1,2 , Shinichi Kawai1

  • Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University, 6-11-1 Omori-Nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
  • Research Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Kitasato University, Tokyo, Japan
Received:

9 November 2011

Accepted:

14 February 2012

Published online:

21 March 2012

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Abstract

Objectives We investigated the role of adipokines in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases who received glucocorticoid therapy.
Methods Fifty-two patients with systemic autoimmune diseases who had started glucocorticoid therapy were prospectively enrolled. One hundred forty healthy persons were also studied as controls. Serum levels of 3 adipokines [resistin, leptin, and high molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin] were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits before and at weekly intervals for 4 weeks during glucocorticoid therapy. The effects of lipopolysaccharide and dexamethasone on adipokine expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were also examined.
Results The serum resistin level was significantly higher in patients than in controls before glucocorticoid therapy, and it decreased after glucocorticoid therapy. Consistent with these results, dexamethasone inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced upregulation of resistin expression in PBMCs in vitro. Serum leptin and HMW-adiponectin levels were lower in the patients than in the controls at baseline, and both adipokine levels were increased after glucocorticoid therapy. There was a significant correlation between serum resistin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. However, there was no association between serum adipokines and intima-media thickness.
Conclusion Resistin may be associated with the inflammatory process but not atherosclerosis in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases.

Key words

Systemic autoimmune diseases - Resistin - Leptin - High molecular weight adiponectin - Glucocorticoids