Lipopolysaccharide increases resistin gene expression in vivo and in vitro.

Although resistin has been thought to be an important link between obesity and diabetes, recent results do not support this hypothesis. We speculated that resistin may be involved in inflammatory processes and be induced by inflammatory stimuli. In this study, we tested whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced resistin expression in rats. The results show that resistin mRNA levels in white adipose tissue and white blood cells were increased by LPS treatment. LPS also increased resistin mRNA levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and human peripheral blood monocytes. The results suggest that resistin is involved in insulin resistance and probably in other inflammatory responses.