PeptideHormone

Adiponectin

An adipokine that improves insulin sensitivity — and falls as fat rises.

EndogenousEstablished

Identity

Class
Adipokine (circulates as trimers, hexamers, and HMW multimers)
Source
Adipocytes
Receptor
Adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2

Mechanism

Adiponectin enhances insulin sensitivity and fatty-acid oxidation, acting in part through AMPK. Unusually among adipokines, its circulating level is inversely related to fat mass — it falls in obesity and rises with metabolic improvement.

Reference notes

  • Its inverse relationship to fat mass is the opposite of leptin's.
  • It circulates as several multimer sizes; the high-molecular-weight form is considered the most metabolically active.
  • Higher adiponectin generally tracks with better insulin sensitivity.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

  1. 1.Adiponectin Regulation and Function · Comprehensive Physiology, 2018 · PMID 29978896
  2. 2.Adiponectin, Leptin and Cardiovascular Disorders · Circulation research, 2021 · PMID 33411633