The complex role of adiponectin in chronic kidney disease

Although adiponectin, an adipocytokine released from adipose tissue, is thought to have anti-atherogenic, anti-inflammatory, and insulin-sensitizing effects, it appears that high, rather than low, circulating levels of adiponectin predict increased mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in whom the circulating levels may rise to about three times higher than the levels in healthy subjects. As it could be hypothesized that in the uremic milieu high adiponectin levels reflect protein-energy wasting, lower residual renal function and/or volume overload, this may explain, at least in part, the observed paradoxical link between hyperadiponectinemia and poor outcome in CKD. To determine the biological consequences of high circulating adiponectin levels on carbohydrate and insulin metabolism as well as relations with cardiovascular function and mortality in the uremic milieu, further studies need to take into account both high-, and low-molecular weight adiponectin moieties as well as the role of adiponectin receptors. This brief review summarizes some of the recent advances in our understanding of the complex and context-sensitive role of this elusive and intriguing adipokine in the uremic milieu.

► Circulating adiponectin accumulates in chronic kidney disease patients.
► High, not low, adiponectin levels predict death in chronic kidney disease patients.
► Malnutrition and low residual renal function may link high adiponectin to mortality.
► Low adiponectin promotes albuminuria and may link obesity to risk of kidney disease.