Increased Adiponectin synthesis in the visceral adipose tissue in men with coronary artery disease treated with pravastatin: a role of the attenuation of oxidative stress.

Description

Previous evidence suggested that pravastatin increased circulating adiponectin levels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However the mechanism responsible for this effect remained to be elucidated. Saito et al. sought to examine the influence of pravastatin treatment on adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, interleukin (IL)-6 and protein carbonyl level, an indicator of oxidative stress, in intra-abdominal (visceral) and subcutaneous adipose tissue from 32 patients with CAD undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In that group, 14 patients [with LDL cholesterol > 2.6 mmol/l (100 mg/dl)] were treated with pravastatin 10 mg/day for 2 months before CABG (statin group) while 18 patients [with LDL cholesterol < 2.6mmol/l (100 mg/dl)] did not receive treatment (control group). Results of this study indicate that plasma adiponectin levels as well as its expression in intra-abdominal adipose tissue were increased in men with CAD treated with pravastatin. No differences were observed between the statin and control groups with respect to plasma TNF-a and IL-6 levels or gene expression in each tissue. However, the authors found that protein carbonyl levels in plasma and intra-abdominal fat tissue were lower in the statin than the control group, suggesting that pravastatin-attenuated oxidative stress could be involved in the regulation of adiponectin expression and secretion.