Perspectives in Diabetes Genetic Influences of Adiponectin on Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease

Recent evidence points to molecules secreted by the adi-pose tissue, or adipokines, as possible links between in-creased adipose mass and metabolic abnormalities. Among these molecules, adiponectin has drawn much attention because of its insulin-sensitizing and antiatherogenic ac-tions, suggesting that genetic deficits in its production or action may contribute to insulin resistance and coronary artery disease (CAD). A meta-analysis of the data pub-lished to date supports this hypothesis. Two independent effects, corresponding to the two linkage disequilibrium blocks that can be identified at the adiponectin locus, appear to be present. In the 5 block, the g.11391G3A variant has a modest but significant effect on adiponectine-mia, with a mean difference between genotypes of 1.64 ng/ml (95 % CI 0.88–2.41). In the 3 block, the g.276G3