title: Adiponectin, the past two decades.
abstract: Adiponectin is an adipocyte-specific factor, first described in 1995. Over the past two decades, numerous studies have elucidated the physiological functions of adiponectin in obesity, diabetes, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. Adiponectin, elicited through cognate receptors, suppresses glucose production in the liver and enhances fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle, which together contribute to a beneficial metabolic action in whole body energy homeostasis. Beyond its role in metabolism, adiponectin also protects cells from apoptosis and reduces inflammation in various cell types via receptor-dependent mechanisms. Adiponectin, as a fat-derived hormone, therefore fulfills a critical role as an important messenger to communicate between adipose tissue and other organs. A better understanding of adiponectin actions, including the pros and cons, will advance our insights into basic mechanisms of metabolism and inflammation, and potentially pave the way toward novel means of pharmacological intervention to address pathophysiological changes associated with diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cardiometabolic disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA zhao.wang@utsouthwestern.edu philipp.scherer@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Zhao V
authors.initials: ZV
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Touchstone Diabetes Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA zhao.wang@utsouthwestern.edu philipp.scherer@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Philipp E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Scherer
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002477:Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D054419:Receptors, Adiponectin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D054419:Receptors, Adiponectin
keywords: adiponectin; diabetes; metabolic syndrome; obesity