Genetic variants of adiponectin receptor 2 are associated with increased adiponectin levels and decreased triglyceride/VLDL levels in patients with metabolic syndrome

Background: Adiponectin acts as an antidiabetic, antiinflammatory
and antiatherogenic adipokine. These effects are assumed to be
mediated by the recently discovered adiponectin receptors AdipoR1
and AdipoR2. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine
whether variations in the AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 genes may contribute
to insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and inflammation. Methods: We
sequenced all seven coding exons of both genes in 20 unrelated
German subjects with metabolic syndrome and tested genetic variants
for association with glucose, lipid and inflammatory parameters.
Results: We identified three AdipoR2 variants (+795G/ A, +870C/A
and +963C/T) in perfect linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 1) with a
minor allele frequency of 0.125. This haplotype was associated with
higher plasma adiponectin levels and decreased fasting
triglyceride, VLDL-triglyceride and VLDL-cholesterol levels. No
association, however, was observed between the AdipoR2 SNP cluster
and glucose metabolism. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the
first study to identify an association between genetic variants of
the adiponectin receptor genes and plasma adiponectin levels.
Furthermore, our data suggest that AdipoR2 may play an important
role in triglyceride/VLDL metabolism.