Abstract 11475: Overexpression of Human Omentin in a Fat-Specific Manner Attenuates Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation in ApoE-Deficient Mice

Background: Obesity is closely associated with the progression of atherosclerosis. Omentin is a circulating adipokine, which is downregulated by obesity. Recently, we have shown that omentin concentrations are decreased in association with carotid atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Here, we investigated the impact of omentin on the development of atherosclerosis in vivo, and assessed its potential mechanisms. Methods and Results: We generated transgenic mice expressing the human omentin gene under the control of the aP2 promoter (fat-specific OMT-Tg mice) in the background of C57BL/6J. Morphometric and metabolic parameters of OMT-Tg mice were indistinguishable from nontransgenic littermates under basal/physiological conditions. We also crossed OMT-Tg mice with apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-KO) mice, which are experimental models of atherosclerosis. Circulating levels of human omentin in apoE-KO/OMT-Tg mice were approximately 2.0 fold higher than in those in healthy human subjects, whereas hum...