Is adiponectin associated with acute myocardial infarction in Iranian non obese patients?

Non-coding RNAs in Cardiac Intercellular Communication

Intercellular communication allows for molecular information to be transferred from cell to cell, in order to maintain tissue or organ homeostasis. Alteration in the process due to changes, either on the vehicle or the cargo information, may contribute to pathological events, such as cardiac pathological remodeling. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), namely exosomes, are double-layer vesicles secreted by cells to mediate intercellular communication, both locally and systemically. EVs can carry different types of cargo, including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which, are major regulators of physiological and pathological processes. ncRNAs transported in EVs are functionally active and trigger a cascade of processes in the recipient cells. Upon cardiac injury, exosomal ncRNAs can derive from and target different cardiac cell types to initiate cellular and molecular remodeling events such as hypertrophic growth, cardiac fibrosis, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation, all contributing to cardiac dysfunction and, eventually, heart failure. Exosomal ncRNAs are currently accepted as crucial players in the process of cardiac pathological remodeling and alterations in their presence profile in EVs may attenuate cardiac dysfunction, suggesting that exosomal ncRNAs are potential new therapeutic targets. Here, we review the current research on the role of ncRNAs in intercellular communication, in the context of cardiac pathological remodeling.

Lack of Association Between rs17568 Polymorphism in OX40 Gene and Myocardial Infarction, Southern of Iran

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is one of the inflammatory cytokines which has an important role in inflammation and migration of other inflammatory cells to the atherosclerotic plaques. OX40 is a member of the TNF super family receptor protein. OX40 and OX40 ligand are co-stimulators for T-cells and can increase inflammatory response in atherosclerotic plaques. The aim of this study was to determine the association of rs17568 polymorphism in OX40 gene with premature myocardial infarction. This case control study was done on 100 patients with premature acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and a similar number of sex, age and some other cardiovascular risk factor matched healthy people. The OX40 rs17568 polymorphism was genotyped, using PCR-RFLP method. A-allele frequency of rs17568 SNP was lower non-significantly in Premature AMI, compared to healthy subjects (49% vs. 51%). The analysis of rs17568 (A/G) polymorphism showed an odds ratio of 1.127 (95% CI: 0.635-1.999; P= 0.686) for the GG genotype and 5.761 (95% CI: 1.200-27.655; P= 0.029) for the AG genotype, compared to the AA genotype. The results of this study indicate that the rs17568 SNP of OX40 gene is not associated with premature AMI in the evaluated population.

The cardio-protective signaling and mechanisms of adiponectin

Adiponectin is an endogenous insulin-sensitizing hormone which has been found to regulate energy metabolism throughout the body, including the heart. However, low levels of adiponectin are found in patients with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Thus it has been suggested to be an independent predictor for cardiovascular risk. Paradoxically, recent studies have also determined that adiponectin has cardioprotective effects against various cardiac related pathologies which lead to heart failure. These cardioprotective effects of adiponectin are attributed to its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. Further findings suggest that locally produced adiponectin in cardiomyocytes are functional and biologically significant. This ectopic derived adiponectin exerts its protective effects through an autocrine mechanism. These data suggest adiponectin may serve as a potential therapeutic target against the development of pathologies which develop into heart failure. The current manuscript has summarized the key findings to date which explore the cardioprotective mechanisms of adiponectin against various cardiac pathologies. Further we explore the roles of both circulating and endogenous heart specific adiponectin and their physiological importance in various heart diseases.

Association of adiponectin and metabolic syndrome in women

BACKGROUND

An inverse association between serum adiponectin level and metabolic syndrome was seen in few studies. The aim of this study was to assess the association between serum adiponectin levels and metabolic syndrome in a sample of Iranian women from Kerman.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study 946 subjects were studied to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and in a case control study (170 subjects for each group) the association between serum adiponectin levels and metabolic syndrome were investigated. Metabolic syndrome was defined using International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Socio-demographics factors and measures of waist circumference, blood pressure and lipid profiles were collected. Serum adiponectin level was measured by ELISA method.

RESULTS

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 36.7%. Mean of serum adiponectin level in individuals with metabolic syndrome was lower than individuals without it (10.5 ± 4.1 and 13.45 ± 5.6 μg/ml, respectively, p < 0.001). Low level of adiponectin was a good predictor for metabolic syndrome (a range of β coefficients out of -2.03 to -2.85 according to five models). Systolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and diastolic blood pressure were independent predictors of serum adiponectin (p values were 0.001, 0.009 and 0.034, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that adiponectin is negatively associated with metabolic syndrome. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and BMI were identified as independent predictors.