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Background/aim: Aberrant adipokine serum concentrations are associated with a variety of obesity-related diseases. This study was designed to investigate the putative role of the adipokines adiponectin, chemerin, progranulin, vaspin, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (AFABP) in gallstone disease., Methods: Serum levels of adiponectin, chemerin, progranulin, vaspin, FGF21 and AFABP of 189 gallstone patients and 833 healthy controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays., Results: Increased adiponectin levels were nominally associated with lower gallstone risk in women (p=0.036, odds ratio (OR) 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.23; 0.95]). Furthermore progranulin serum concentrations in men were significantly elevated in gallstone carriers in comparison to controls (p=0.012, OR 6.1, 95% CI [1.5; 24.9]). Serum levels of chemerin, vaspin, FGF21 and AFABP did not differ between controls and subjects with gallstones., Conclusion: Our data further support a protective effect of adiponectin on gallstone risk and suggest a role of progranulin in the pathophysiology of cholelithiasis. Nevertheless, longitudinal data and functional analyses would be required to assess the pathogenetic link between gallstone formation and adipokine serum levels., (© J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic and anti-diabetic properties of adiponectin make this adipokine an attractive target in the metabolism research. Given its biological role, genetic variation in adiponectin affecting its function might consequently play a role in the pathophysiology of various metabolic disorders. In this light, genetic aspects of adiponectin including its gene structure, heritability of serum concentrations and the role of genetic variation have been addressed in multiple genetic studies. Here, we provide a brief summary of adiponectin genetics with focus on gene structure and genetic variation controlling circulating adiponectin levels. We summarize the main findings from genome-wide linkage and association studies that have revealed the major genetic determinants of serum adiponectin. Beside genetic variants in the adiponectin gene, several other genes/loci (ARL15, CDH13, KNG1, FER, ETV5) contributing to the variability in circulating adiponectin have been identified. The majority of these variants are significantly associated with metabolic phenotypes relevant to metabolic diseases (e.g. obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D)). Considering the protective properties of adiponectin in diseases such as T2D, comprehensive analyses of genetic variants including rare as well as frequent polymorphisms might provide insights on the specific role of adiponectin in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)