title: Soluble thrombomodulin and vascular adhesion molecule-1 are associated to leptin plasma levels in obese women.
abstract: Recent studies have suggested that leptin, a plasma protein secreted by adipocytes, may play a role in artherothrombosis. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that leptin contributes to in vivo endothelial dysfunction in obese subjects. A cross-sectional comparison of plasma leptin, soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was carried out in 35 obese women (age 48+/-13) selected with a body mass index (BMI) > or =30kg/m(2) and 25 normal weight women (age 50+/-11, BMI < 25). An additional study was conducted to determine the short-term effects of weight loss induced by caloric restriction. Plasma levels of leptin, sTM and sVCAM-1 were measured before and after weight loss. Obese women had higher levels of leptin (35+/-22 versus 22+/-19, P<0.01), sTM (4.8+/-1.8 versus 1.9+/-1.5, P<0.001) and sVCAM-1 (726+/-109 versus 583+/-50, P<0.001) than non-obese women. sTM and sVCAM-1 concentrations had a positive correlation with BMI (sTM, r=0.70, P<0.001; sVCAM-1, r=0.60, P<0.001), waist circumference (sTM, r=0.66, P<0.001; sVCAM-1, r=0.37, P<0.01) and leptin levels (sTM, r=0.53, P<0.001; sVCAM-1, r=0.42, P<0.005). At multiple regression analysis leptin predicted sTM and sVCAM-1 independently of obesity measures and other covariates. Twenty-nine obese patients who completed the program of weight reduction showed a significant decrease in leptin, sTM, and sVCAM-1 levels. The magnitude of decrease of sTM and sVCAM-1 was related to the magnitude of reduction in leptin levels. Therefore, our results show that obesity is associated with enhanced levels of atherosclerosis markers. These abnormalities are related to abdominal obesity possibly mediated by leptin levels, and are reversible with weight loss.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze dell'Invecchiamento, Centro Servizi Biomedici, Università G.D'Annunzio Chieti, Palazzina SEBI, Via dei Vestini, Chieti 66100, Italy. eporreca@unich.it
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porreca
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Febbo
authors.forename: Luigia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moretta
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Nisio
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cuccurullo
mesh_terms: D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D054411:Receptors, Leptin; D018180:Thrombomodulin / Q000097:blood*; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C515448:LEPR protein, human; D020738:Leptin; D054411:Receptors, Leptin; D018180:Thrombomodulin; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1