Strong correlations between circulating chemerin levels and lipoprotein subfractions in nondiabetic obese and nonobese subjects

Objective Chemerin is a recently described adipokine expressed primarily in the white adipose tissue. Compared with lean subjects, circulating chemerin levels are significantly elevated in obese individuals and correlate positively with the prevalence of various cardiovascular risk factors including altered lipoprotein levels. To date, the impact of chemerin on lipoprotein subfractions and its role in atherosclerotic processes are still unclear. Patients and Methods Fifty nondiabetic obese (NDO) patients and 38 lean controls matched in age and gender were enrolled. Chemerin level was measured by ELISA. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions were detected by nongradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Lipoprint). Results We detected significantly higher serum chemerin levels in NDO patients compared with healthy controls (590.1 +/- 190.3 ng/ml vs 405 +/- 127.1 ng/ml, P < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between chemerin and LDL cholesterol levels, while chemerin showed a significant negative correlation with the level of HDL cholesterol. Significant positive correlation was detected between chemerin and the ratio of small dense LDL, while chemerin correlated negatively with the mean LDL size. Also, a significant negative correlation was found between serum chemerin and the ratio of large HDL subfraction, while there were significant positive correlations between chemerin levels and intermediate and small HDL subfraction ratios, respectively. Conclusion Chemerin may be involved in the regulation of lipoprotein metabolism in obese patients who do not show apparent abnormalities of glucose metabolism. Early changes in the distribution of the lipoprotein subfractions may contribute to the progression of atherosclerosis, leading to increased cardiovascular risk.