Resistin and obesity, mortality, testing by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Resistin is a 12.5-kDa polypeptide hormone produced by adipocytes and immunocompetent cells. Resistin was originally proposed as a link between obesity and insulin resistance / diabetes. Later, studies revealed that substantial inter-species differences exist between the major sites of resistin production in rodents (adipocytes) and humans (immunocompetent cells). While in rodents resistin appears to have an important role in the development of liver insulin resistance, its role in humans is less clear, and it is probably involved in the regulation of inflammatory processes rather than in insulin sensitivity. Adipose tissue is a highly active metabolic and endocrine organ. Adipose cells secrete leptin, resistin, adiponectin, adipsin, acylation-stimulating protein, angiotensinogen, tumour necrosis factor a, interleukin-6, retinol-binding protein, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, tissue factor, fasting-induced adipose factor, fibrinogen / angiopoetin-related protein, and metallothionein.

Resistin in health and disease

Resistin may be an inflammatory marker associated with CAD. Resistin and adiponectin are also implicated in insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

Resistin, adiponectin, and risk of heart failure the framingham offspring study.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009; Frankel DS, Vasan RS, D'Agostino RB Sr, Benjamin EJ, Levy D, Wang TJ, Meigs JB. Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
We tested the association of the adipokines resistin and adiponectin with incident heart failure. Abnormal concentrations of adipokines may partially explain the association between obesity and heart failure. We related circulating adipokine concentrations to the incidence of heart failure in 2,739 participants in the Framingham Offspring Study. During 6 years of follow-up, 58 participants developed new-onset heart failure. In proportional hazards models (adjusting for age, sex, blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, diabetes, smoking, total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, prevalent coronary heart disease, valvular heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, and estimated glomerular filtration rate) using the lowest third of the resistin distribution as the referent, the hazard ratios for heart failure in the middle and top thirds were 2.8 and 4 respectively. Increased circulating concentrations of resistin were associated with incident heart failure, even after accounting for prevalent coronary heart disease, obesity, and measures of insulin resistance and inflammation. The findings suggest a role for resistin in human disease and a novel pathway to heart failure.