Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Apr;48(3):217-23.
doi: 10.3109/02770903.2011.555033. Epub 2011 Feb 21.

Airway and plasma leptin and adiponectin in lean and obese asthmatics and controls

Fernando Holguin  1 , Mauricio Rojas, Lou Anne Brown, Anne M Fitzpatrick
Affiliations

Airway and plasma leptin and adiponectin in lean and obese asthmatics and controls

Fernando Holguin et al. J Asthma. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity-mediated changes in plasma adipokines have been associated with increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. However, it is unknown whether obesity induces similar changes in airway levels of these adipokines and whether these changes are associated with increased airway biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Methods: Lean and obese asthmatics and controls underwent bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), spirometry, and provided fasting plasma leptin and adiponectin. Biomarkers of oxidation and inflammation in the BAL included exhaled nitric oxide (NO), 8-isoprostanes, pH, and nitrogen oxide products (NOx).

Results: Out of a total of 48 subjects, 44% had asthma and 56% were healthy controls. Among subjects with asthma, 66% were obese, 10% overweight, and 24% lean; in the controls these proportions were 63%, 11%, and 26%, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking history, ethnicity, and prebronchodilator forced exhalation in 1 second (FEV(1)), obesity was associated with higher BAL and plasma leptin levels in asthmatics and controls. Increasing BMI was associated with increased BAL leptin and was marginally and inversely associated with BAL adiponectin. Significant associations between BAL and plasma levels were only observed for leptin. No significant associations were observed between BAL and plasma adipokines with the airway biomarkers of oxidation and inflammation.

Conclusion: Increasing BMI is associated with changes in the concentrations of airway adipokines in asthmatics and healthy controls; however, these associations are not related with biomarkers of airway oxidation or inflammation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the BAL and plasma leptin and adiponectin distribution between asthmatics and controls within each weight category Footnote: A: Plasma adiponectin, B: BAL adiponectin, C: Plasma leptin, d: BAL leptin. C: Control; A: asthma; OW: Overweight.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between BAL and plasma leptin
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between BAL and plasma adiponectin
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Sutherland ER, Goleva E, Strand M, Beuther DA, Leung DY. Body mass and glucocorticoid response in asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2008;178:682–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Taylor B, Mannino D, Brown C, Crocker D, Twum-Baah N, Holguin F. Body mass index and asthma severity in the National Asthma Survey. Thorax. 2008;63:14–20. - PubMed
    1. Litonjua AA, Sparrow D, Celedon JC, DeMolles D, Weiss ST. Association of body mass index with the development of methacholine airway hyperresponsiveness in men: the Normative Aging Study. Thorax. 2002;57:581–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beuther DA, Sutherland ER. Overweight, obesity, and incident asthma: a meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007;175:661–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shore SA. Obesity and asthma: possible mechanisms. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;121:1087–93. quiz 94–5. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms