Genomic structure of human omentin, a new adipocytokine expressed in omental adipose tissue

Genomic structure, promoter region, amino acid sequence and exon-specific primer combinations of the human omentin gene are presented. Omentin mRNA expression differs between omental adipose tissue probes from patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease. Sequence comparisons revealed a 100% identity of omentin with human intelectin. Based on this, omentin might be a new adipocytokine playing a role in the defense against intestinal bacterial translocation in the context of Crohn's disease. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.