Human plasma chemerin level is not associated with the severity of knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Adipokine-induced inflammation plays roles in the pathogenesis of human osteoarthritis (OA). Chemerin is a novel chemoattractant adipokine associated with metabolic syndrome and inflammation. This study aimed to investigate whether human plasma chemerin is associated with the severity of knee OA. METHODS: A total of 74 patients with knee OA were prospectively enrolled. The severity of OA was judged according to the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading system. Patients’ age, sex, body mass index (BMI), haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, and lipid profile were documented. Plasma chemerin was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: A total of 54 female and 20 male patients with a mean age of 60.9 years were included. Their mean (± standard deviation) triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, and HbA1c levels was 1.58 ± 1.00 nmol/L, 3.04 ± 0.77 nmol/L, 1.50 ± 0.44 nmol/L, 5.25 ± 0.83 nmol/L, and 5.82 ± 0.65 mmol/L, respectively. The mean plasma chemerin level of patients with KL grade 2, grade 3, and grade 4 was 57.77 ± 16.80 (n=28), 62.93 ± 20.23 (n=27) and 60.84 ± 14.43 (n=19), respectively. The one-way analysis of variance showed no significant differences among these groups (p=0.413). The bivariate correlation analysis showed that chemerin was correlated with BMI (p=0.007, r=0.310) and triglyceride level (p=0.034, r=0.247). CONCLUSIONS: Human plasma chemerin level is not associated with the severity of knee OA but is correlated with BMI and triglyceride levels.