Background: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between adiponectin plasma circulating levels and its gene expression in two abdominal fat depots (subcutaneous and visceral) with the fatty acid composition of plasma and adipose tissue in morbidly obese subjects.
Methods: 20 patients (10 women and 10 men) were selected. All were morbidly obese (BMI > or =40 kg/m2) and admitted for gastric surgery. Plasma samples and adipose tissue from both subcutaneous and visceral regions were obtained. Plasma adiponectin and adipose adiponectin expression were analyzed.
Results: Adiponectin mRNA expression in the subcutaneous tissue was significantly higher (P=0.048) than in visceral tissue. Circulating adiponectin values, were positively associated with the proportion of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in plasma (r=0.62, P=0.002). The visceral depot showed greater statistical associations between adiponectin gene expression and fatty acids profile, being saturated fatty acids associated with a decrease (r=-0.68, P=0.015), whereas monounsaturated were related to an increase in this adipose region (r=0.67, P=0.017).
Conclusions: We demonstrated significant associations between adipose tissue adiponectin gene expression and fatty acid composition. These associations were more evident in relation to the visceral depot, an adipose tissue region highly implicated in the metabolic syndrome.