Adiponectin is increased and correlated with the degree of proteinuria, but plasma leptin is not changed in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis.

SUMMARY Aim:  Altered regulation of adiponectin and leptin may be relevant to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. Methods:  The relationship between the levels of plasma adiponectin, leptin and proteinuria, glomerular filtration rate and metabolic risk factors was investigated in 38 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. Results:  Plasma adiponectin was much higher in patients with heavy proteinuria (38.8 ± 27.8 µg/mL) than in patients with mild proteinuria (13.3 ± 5.1 µg/mL, P < 0.001) and with moderate proteinuria (18.1 ± 8.0 µg/mL, P < 0.01). The levels of serum leptin were not changed among these groups. Proteinuria and lipoprotein(a) were a strong and direct correlate of plasma adiponectin (r = 0.75, P < 0.0001), while serum albumin and the glomerular filtration rate correlated inversely with this protein (r = −0.56, P = 0.0002; r = 0.38, P = 0.02). Body mass index and triglyceride were direct correlates (r = 0.37, P = 0.02 and r = 0.37, P = 0.02, respectively) of plasma leptin in patients with glomerulonephritis. Conclusions:  Plasma adiponectin but not plasma leptin levels correlate with proteinuria in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis.