Depletion of Adiponectin in Pericardial-Fat Tissue: A Potential Role for Cardiac MMP-Regulation

Visceral fat-accummulation has been associated with an increased cardiovascular risk including the development of heart failure. However, functional differences between distinct visceral fat depots (e.g. pericardial fat, epididymal fat) are unknown. The adipose-specific protein adiponectin has been demonstrated to exert direct effects on cardiovascular cells. In the present study we investigated the expression of adiponectin protein in pericardial vs. epididymal adipose tissue in obese Zucker rats. In rat cardiac fibroblast we studied the regulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 by adiponectin. Male Obese…