Leptin, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ, and CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein-α mRNA Expression in Adipose Tissue of Humans and Their Relation to Cardiovascular Risk Factors

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Abstract
—Obesity is a prevalent disorder that increases the risk for premature cardiovascular disease. The adipose tissue itself plays an active role in the regulation of fuel metabolism and energy homeostasis by expressing a number of regulatory genes, such as leptin, peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα). To study the in vivo relationships among these genes and their associations with cardiovascular risk factors, plasma levels of leptin, lipids, apolipoproteins (apo), insulin, and glucose were measured in 216 obese, 165 nonobese, and 36 weight-losing postobese subjects. mRNA expression of leptin, PPARγ, and C/EBPα in the extraperitoneal and intraperitoneal adipose tissue was quantified in subsets of subjects. In obese individuals, plasma leptin was associated with apoA-I ( r =0.2346, P r =0.2125, P r =0.6096, P r =−0.2888, P r =−0.2814, P r =0.5695, P r =0.6216, P r =−0.5101, P r =−0.6331, P <0.007). These findings suggest a relationship between plasma leptin and HDL metabolism as well as adipose-tissue site–dependent associations among leptin, C/EBP-α, and PPAR-γ mRNA expression. Furthermore, our results suggest that C/EBP-α enhances leptin expression in vivo and that PPARγ mRNA expression is inversely associated with cardiovascular risk factors.

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