New roles of the multidimensional adipokine: Chemerin

• Chemerin is proposed as a modulator of inflammation influencing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
• Its involvement in angiogenesis, blood pressure regulation and diabetes may lead to new avenues for therapeutic research.
• We suggest that chemerin may be a future biomarker for tumor diagnosis.
• It can serve as a modulator of fetal growth and metabolic homeostasis during pregnancy.

The discovery of several adipokines with diverse activities and their involvement in regulation of various pathophysiological functions of human body has challenged the researchers. In the family of adipokine, chemerin is a novel and unique addition. Ever since the first report on chemerin as a chemo-attractant protein, there are numerous studies showing a multitasking capacity of chemerin in the maintenance of homeostasis, for the activation of natural killer cells, macrophages and dendritic cells in both innate and adaptive immunity. Its diversity ranges from generalized inflammatory cascades to being explicitly involved in the manifestation of arthritis, psoriasis and peritonitis. Its association with certain cancerous tissue may render it as a potential tumor marker. In present review, we aim to consolidate recent data of investigations on chemerin in context to functional characteristics with a special reference to its role as a metabolic signal in inflammation and non-metabolic syndromes.