title: Feline adiponectin: molecular structures and plasma concentrations in obese cats.
abstract: Adiponectin is an adipokine that is specifically expressed in adipose tissues, directly sensitizes the body to insulin via specific receptors and its decreased plasma concentration is responsible for insulin resistance in obese humans. Diabetes is an important problem also in veterinary medicine, and feline diabetes is very similar to human type 2 diabetes, in which obesity is an important risk factor. In the present study, We obtained cDNA clones corresponding to feline adiponectin and adiponectin receptor 1 (AD-R1), whose nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences were highly identical to those of other species, especially, the extra-cellular domain of feline AD-R1 was almost identical to that of human AD-R1. Adiponectin mRNA was exclusively detected in the adipose tissue, but AD-R1 was in all tissues tested in this study. Next, plasma samples were collected from 22 cats visiting veterinary practices. They were divided to 2 groups based on a five-point scale body condition score (BCS), such as normal group (BCS ranged from 2.5 through 3.5) and obese group (BCS ranged from 4.0 through 5.0). Plasma adiponectin in obese cats (7.2 +/- 1.5 microg/ml) was significantly lower than that of normal cats (18.0 +/- 3.2 microg/ml). These results suggest that adiponectin may be responsible for insulin function also in the cat, and it can be a target molecule for treatment of obesity and diabetes in cats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Nursing, School of Veterinary Nursing and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Musashino-shi, Tokyo, Japan. katsumi@nvlu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishioka
authors.forename: Asako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Omachi
authors.forename: Noriyasu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D054419:Receptors, Adiponectin / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D007328:Insulin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D054419:Receptors, Adiponectin