Adiponectin and its association with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes

Adiponectin is an adipokine, which is expressed in adipose tissue and is thought to play an important role in glucose metabolism. Hypoadiponectinemia can cause reduction of fatty acid oxidation, decreased glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells, and increased gluconeogenesis in hepatic cells. The level of plasma glucose can be increased. On the other hand, the decrease of fatty acid oxidation increases the level of free fatty acid (FFA), which increases the insulin resistance, and then decreases the glucose uptake, which ultimately causes increased plasma glucose and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This review describes the process from hypoadiponectinemia to T2D and the genesis of hypoadiponectinemia at a molecular level.