Increase of high molecular weight adiponectin in hypertensive pregnancy was correlated with brain-type natriuretic peptide stimulation on adipocyte

Background: High-molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin is an active multimer for insulin sensitivity and anti-inflammatory reactions. We compared the ratio of serum total and HMW-adiponectin with brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and other adipocytokines in normal pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). Effect of BNP on the secretion of adiponectin from cultured adipocytes was also examined. Methods: The three study groups consisted of 44 non-pregnant women, 40 normal (healthy) pregnant women over 28 weeks gestation and 29 patients with severe PIH. Adiponectin (protease-pretreated for HMW), BNP-N-terminal, leptin, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 were measured with ELISA. Pre-adipocytes were differentiated to matured adipocytes and cultured with recombinant-BNP addition. Results: HMW-to-total adiponectin ratio (HMW-ratio) was lower in normal pregnancy than in non-pregnant, and significantly higher in PIH than normal pregnancies. BNP-N-terminal showed positive correlation with HMW-adiponectin and HMW-ratio. Leptin and MCP-1 showed positive correlation with HMW-adiponectin, but not with HMW-ratio. Adiponectin in the supernatant of adipocyte cultures and intracellular cyclic-GMP was increased in dose-dependent manner in response to BNP. Conclusion: The observed increase in the HMW-adponectin ratio in subjects with PIH may reflect a functional increase of adiponectin in the pathophysiology of PIH. Additionally, this increase seemed to be related to BNP via stimulation of adipocytes. (C) 2011 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.