Purpose: Adiponectin is expressed in adipose tissue, and is affected by smoking, obesity, and genetic factors, such as CDH13 polymorphism, contributing to the development of coronary vascular diseases (CVDs).
Materials and methods: We investigated the effect of genetic variations of CDH13 (rs3865188) on blood chemistry and adiponectin levels in 345 CVD patients undergoing statin-free or statin treatment.
Results: Genetic variation in CDH13 was significantly correlated with several clinical factors, including adiponectin, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride (TG), and insulin levels. Subjects with the T allele (mutant form) had significantly lower adiponectin levels than those with the A allele. Total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), TG/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) ratio, and HDL3b subtype were markedly decreased in statin treated subjects regardless of having the A or T allele. TG and TG/HDL in the statin-free group with TT genotype of the rs3865188 was higher than in the others but they were not different in the statin-treated subjects. We observed a significant difference in adiponectin levels between patients with the A and T alleles in the statin-free group; meanwhile, no difference in adiponectin levels was noted in the statin group. Plasma levels of other cytokines, leptin, visfatin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were not different among the CDH13 genotypes according to statin administration. Body mass index (BMI), TG, insulin, HDL3b, and TG/HDL ratio showed negative correlations with adiponectin levels.
Conclusion: Plasma adiponectin levels and TG/HDL ratio were significantly different according to variants of CDH13 and statin administration in Korean patients with CVD.
Keywords: Adiponectin; CDH13; HDL3b; TG/HDL; statin.