Expression of the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) in the subcutaneous and visceral fatty tissues and the serum adiponectin level in children

The primary objective of the present work was to study specific features of adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) expression in the subcutaneous and visceral fatty tissues along with the serum adiponectin level in children. The secondary objective was to elucidate the relationship between these variables and the basic anthropometric characteristics. The study included a total of 62 patients (31 boys and 31 girls at the age from 2.5 to 18 (median 13.6 (8.5-15.1) years] after they underwent planned surgical interventions. The expression of the adiponectin gene ADIPOQ was determined in paired samples of adipose tissue using the polymerase chain reaction in the real time; in addition, the serum adiponectin levels were measured. The expression of the adiponectin gene ADIPOQ was shown to be unrelated either to the age or to the sex of the children. Nor was there any significant difference between its expression in the subcutaneous and visceral tissues. The highest expression of mRNA encoding for adiponectin was recorded in the children at the Tanner stages 2-3 of sexual development. The ADIPOQ gene expression in the subcutaneous and visceral tissues of overweight children was 22% and 22.6% higher respectively than in the same tissues of normal weight children. Gene expression in the subcutaneous adipose tissue negatively correlated with the serum adiponectin level ( R = –0.38, p = 0.002), BMI SD (R = –0.35, p = 0.004 ), and the waist circumference (R = –0.36, p = 0.004). The results of the study suggest the necessity of further studies to clarify the pathophysiological role of adiponectin in the development of obesity and the related metabolic disturbances.