Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 28 (2014) 1–2
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/beem
Preface
In August 2012, the first International Symposium on Adiponectin Biology and Medicine took place in Tomakomai, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An international panel of speakers presented latebreaking data on recent insights on the biochemistry, cellular biology and physiology of adiponectin. The organizers, Dr. Yuji Matsuzawa, Dr. Takashi Kadowaki and myself felt that the adiponectin research community has grown to a point at which an international conference dedicated uniquely to this adipokine is warranted. Indeed, at the end of 2013, a PubMed search with the keyword “adiponectin” reveals close to 12,000 publications on the topic, and since its first description in 1995 (referred to as “Acrp30” at the time), the number of annual publications has increased steadily every year and is still on the rise, with almost 2000 papers in 2013 alone. There is hardly a field in Endocrinology that has not been touched upon in these 12,000 papers. Part of the popularity of adiponectin is unquestionably the ease with which it can be measured in clinical samples due to its stability and tolerance to collection method and time of the day. The resulting observations reported are frequently amongst the most potent correlates to a wide variety of different conditions of metabolic dysregulation and other systemic pathological changes. This made adiponectin a mainstay clinical marker for a large number of disease states in many clinical studies. Beyond being a popular biomarker, the range of its direct physiological effects is equally impressive and is highlighted in thousands of papers that focus on preclinical phenomena. Importantly, while there are unquestionably important differences in metabolism between rodents, non-human primates and humans, the basic principles of adiponectin physiology have been maintained remarkably well across the different species. This volume summarizes our current insights in many aspects of adiponectin biology. From the basic mechanisms of assembly of adiponectin, its receptors and signalling mechanisms to tissuespecific effects in cell types ranging from key tissues relevant for diabetes and cardiovascular disease to cancer. While comprehensive in nature, given the sheer volume of work ongoing in the field, there are unquestionably entire areas that are not mentioned. I apologize to the contributors to those research areas for the lack of coverage in this review compendium. It is not a reflection of the fact that these areas are deemed less relevant, rather it is a reflection of the limited space available in the context of the book present. I wish to thank all authors who made this volume possible and devoted their time and energy on writing their chapter. Additional thanks to the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism as well as Ann Smiley for help and dedication along the way. I think as a group, we have succeeded to highlight the important aspects of this fascinating protein and identify the critical knowledge gaps that still exist. Despite the massive body of work that has been accomplished to date after nearly 20 years of work, we all agree that we barely scratched the surface of the physiology of this intriguing factor, and many more efforts will be needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of action and the teleological reasons why we need a protein like adiponectin to 1521-690X/$ – see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2013.11.004
2
Preface / Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 28 (2014) 1–2
cope with metabolic stress. I believe we have many more exciting discoveries to look forward to in the next 20 years of research on adiponectin! Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Gifford O. Touchstone Jr. and Randolph G. Touchstone, Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research, Director, Touchstone Diabetes Center* The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-8549, USA Tel.: þ1 (214) 648 8715; Fax: þ1 (214) 648 8720. E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/beem
Preface
In August 2012, the first International Symposium on Adiponectin Biology and Medicine took place in Tomakomai, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An international panel of speakers presented latebreaking data on recent insights on the biochemistry, cellular biology and physiology of adiponectin. The organizers, Dr. Yuji Matsuzawa, Dr. Takashi Kadowaki and myself felt that the adiponectin research community has grown to a point at which an international conference dedicated uniquely to this adipokine is warranted. Indeed, at the end of 2013, a PubMed search with the keyword “adiponectin” reveals close to 12,000 publications on the topic, and since its first description in 1995 (referred to as “Acrp30” at the time), the number of annual publications has increased steadily every year and is still on the rise, with almost 2000 papers in 2013 alone. There is hardly a field in Endocrinology that has not been touched upon in these 12,000 papers. Part of the popularity of adiponectin is unquestionably the ease with which it can be measured in clinical samples due to its stability and tolerance to collection method and time of the day. The resulting observations reported are frequently amongst the most potent correlates to a wide variety of different conditions of metabolic dysregulation and other systemic pathological changes. This made adiponectin a mainstay clinical marker for a large number of disease states in many clinical studies. Beyond being a popular biomarker, the range of its direct physiological effects is equally impressive and is highlighted in thousands of papers that focus on preclinical phenomena. Importantly, while there are unquestionably important differences in metabolism between rodents, non-human primates and humans, the basic principles of adiponectin physiology have been maintained remarkably well across the different species. This volume summarizes our current insights in many aspects of adiponectin biology. From the basic mechanisms of assembly of adiponectin, its receptors and signalling mechanisms to tissuespecific effects in cell types ranging from key tissues relevant for diabetes and cardiovascular disease to cancer. While comprehensive in nature, given the sheer volume of work ongoing in the field, there are unquestionably entire areas that are not mentioned. I apologize to the contributors to those research areas for the lack of coverage in this review compendium. It is not a reflection of the fact that these areas are deemed less relevant, rather it is a reflection of the limited space available in the context of the book present. I wish to thank all authors who made this volume possible and devoted their time and energy on writing their chapter. Additional thanks to the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism as well as Ann Smiley for help and dedication along the way. I think as a group, we have succeeded to highlight the important aspects of this fascinating protein and identify the critical knowledge gaps that still exist. Despite the massive body of work that has been accomplished to date after nearly 20 years of work, we all agree that we barely scratched the surface of the physiology of this intriguing factor, and many more efforts will be needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of action and the teleological reasons why we need a protein like adiponectin to 1521-690X/$ – see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2013.11.004
2
Preface / Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 28 (2014) 1–2
cope with metabolic stress. I believe we have many more exciting discoveries to look forward to in the next 20 years of research on adiponectin! Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Gifford O. Touchstone Jr. and Randolph G. Touchstone, Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research, Director, Touchstone Diabetes Center* The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-8549, USA Tel.: þ1 (214) 648 8715; Fax: þ1 (214) 648 8720. E-mail address: [email protected]
