Serum level of adiponectin correlated with gender and genotype in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Adiponectin is well recognized as plasma physiologically active polypeptide hormone exclusively derived from human and animal mature adipocytes, with vigorous property in antidiabetic, antiobesity, antiatherogenic, and anti-inflammatory processes. In this study, we investigated the correlation between serum adiponectin level and clinical and pathological parameters in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The study included 127 patients with CHC and 42 healthy volunteers as controls whose laboratory parameters and serum adiponectin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We demonstrated that a lower serum adiponectin level was associated with male gender, higher gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GGT), higher albumin, higher TNF-alpha, and steatosis grade. The higher level of serum adiponectin in patients with genotype 2a was demonstrated when compared with that in the patients with genotype 1b. Furthermore, of great interest, results suggested that the significant differences regarding viral genotype seemed to occur only in male patients with CHC but not in female patients. In conclusion, serum adiponectin was associated with gender, genotype, liver steatosis, and TNF-alpha in a Chinese population with CHC.