Nutrients restriction upregulates adiponectin in epicardial or subcutaneous adipose tissue: impact in de novo heart failure patients
Abstract
Background: Hyperadiponectinemia is an indicator of worse outcomes in advanced heart failure
(HF), its role in de novo HF is less clear.
Objective: Because this protein is a hormone with starvation properties, we wanted to know its
association with nutritional state and its regulator factors in de novo HF.
Methods: Adiponectin circulating levels were determined by ELISA at discharge in patients
admitted for de novo HF (n=74). Nutritional status was determined by CONUT score. Univariate
and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to calculate the estimated hazard ratio
(HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for death or all-cause readmission. Stromal vascular cells
(SVC) of EAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) from patients (n=5) underwent heart surgery
were induced to adipogenesis for 18 days. Then, cells were cultured with complete or starved
medium for 8 hours. At the end, adiponectin expression levels were analysed by real time
polymerase chain reaction.
Results: Patients were grouped regarding nutritional status. There was a strong association
between high adiponectin levels and failing nutritional status. Those patients with worse nutritional
state had the highest adiponectin and proBNP levels at discharge (p<0.01). Both proteins were
slightly correlated (p<0.05). However, only high adiponectin levels were independently associated
with death or all-cause readmission. Nutrients starvation upregulated adiponectin expression levels
in adipogenesis-induced SVC from EAT or SAT.
Conclusions: Worse nutritional state in de novo HF patients is associated with higher adiponectin
plasma levels. Their levels were upregulated in adipose cells after being nutrients-starved. These
results may help us to understand the adiponectin paradox in HF.