Background/Purpose: Adipokines are a group of cytokines produced by adipose tissue, which include adiponectin, resistin and leptin. The adiponectin has anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic effects, whereas leptin and resistin are considered atherogenic and pro-inflammatory associated with peripheral insulin resistance. Adipokines have been evaluated in many systemic autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, there is no description of these cytokines in patients with dermatomyositis (DM), who have a high prevalence of risk factors to cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome.

Methods: This one-center and cross-sectional study included 78 adult patients with DM (Bohan and Peter criteria, 1975), in the period of 2011 to 2013. As a control group, 120 healthy individuals were included in the same period. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program – Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III). Blood samples were collected in fasting and processed immediately for further adipokines analysis, basing on the multiplex assay according to the manufacturer’s protocol Millipore.

Results: Age, gender and ethnicity were comparable between patients with DM and control (P>0.05). The mean duration of DM was 4.9±5.6 years. DM patients compared to the control group, showed a high prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, family history of cardiovascular disease, increased body mass index, waist circumference, serum triglycerides, insulin and glucose levels, lower serum levels of HDL cholesterol, and higher frequency of metabolic syndrome (P<0.05). Moreover, we noted higher serum adiponectin concentration [73.5 (56.1 to 101.9) pg/mL vs. 60.4 (43.2 to 81.2) pg/mL, P=0.009] and lower leptin [3.7 (0.2 to 25.5) pg/mL vs. 15.4 (6.9 to 29.0) pg/mL, P<0.001] in patients with DM compared to control group. Serum resistin was similar in both groups. Further analysis showed that adiponectin was significantly correlated with serum levels of HDL cholesterol (rho=0.307, P=0.006) and negatively correlated with serum creatine kinase (rho=-0.223, P=0.050), aldolase (rho=-0.271, P=0.016), triglycerides (rho=-0.313, P=0.005) and metabolic syndrome (rho=-0.238, P=0.036) in patients with DM. Leptin correlated positively with serum insulin level (rho=0.305, P=0.010), interleukin-6 (rho=0.24, P=0.040) and C-reactive protein (rho=0.282, P=0.010).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed high serum adiponectin and low serum leptin in patients with DM which may mitigate the inflammatory response. Further studies are necessary to assess the possible role of these adipokines in patients with DM.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/serum-adipokines-in-dermatomyositis-correlation-with-risk-factors-associated-to-cardiovascular-diseases-and-metabolic-syndrome/