leptin and Mycobacterium-avium-intracellulare-Infection

Patients with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) pulmonary disease often suffer from weight loss. Adipokines are factors secreted by adipocytes, including leptin and adiponectin, as well as some inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Body mass index (BMI) is known to be inversely correlated with adiponectin and positively with leptin, TNF-alpha, and IL-6.. We aimed to evaluate the levels of serum adipokines, including adiponectin, leptin, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 in patients with MAC pulmonary disease.. Forty consecutive patients with MAC pulmonary disease (8 males; median age 62 years; median BMI 18.1) were examined. Serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 were measured with ELISA. Age-, sex- and BMI-matched healthy subjects served as controls.. Serum adiponectin was significantly elevated in patients with MAC pulmonary disease compared with the controls (p < 0.01). In both the patients and controls, serum adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with BMI (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was observed between serum adiponectin levels and C-reactive protein or lung function. Serum leptin levels, which were positively correlated with BMI, did not differ between patients and controls. Serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were significantly greater in patients with MAC pulmonary disease than in controls. The levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were not correlated with BMI and other adipokines examined.. The results of the present study indicate that, in patients with MAC pulmonary disease, adiponectin is inappropriately secreted and may play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Topics: Adiponectin; Aged; Body Mass Index; Case-Control Studies; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Interleukin-6; Leptin; Lung Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Mycobacterium avium Complex; Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha