Adiponectin induces NF-kappaB activation that leads to suppression of cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation in vascular endothelial cells: globular adiponectin vs. high molecular weight adiponectin.

Adiponectin circulates in plasma as various isoforms. However, the biological activity of each isoform has not been firmly established. High molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin may be the active form of adiponectin, while a proteolytic cleavage product of adiponectin, known as globular adiponectin (gAd), has recently been shown to activate vascular endothelial cells. We compared HMW adiponectin with gAd to investigate whether they could activate nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) and suppress cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation in vascular endothelial cells. HMW adiponectin was found to activate NF-kB modestly compared to the activation observed with gAd. HMW adiponectin requires a shorter incubation period to demonstrate inhibition against tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha)-induced NF-kappaB activation, compared with gAd. gAd strongly activates NF-kappaB, thereby inducing the expression of various pro-inflammatory and adhesion molecule genes, and requires a longer incubation period to show inhibition against cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation. Thus, HMW adiponectin might function to protect against inflammatory stimuli, while cleavage of adiponectin at inflammatory sites might enhance the inflammatory process.