Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23092446›Full record

ArticleArthritis research & therapy2012

The adipokine adiponectin has potent anti-fibrotic effects mediated via adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase: novel target for fibrosis therapy.

Feng Fang, Lei Liu, Yang Yang, Zenshiro Tamaki, Jun Wei, Roberta G Marangoni, Swati Bhattacharyya, Ross S Summer, Boping Ye, John Varga

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  11. Wnt Activation in Mature Dermal Adipocytes Leads to Lipodystrophy and Skin Fibrosis via ATGL-Dependent Lipolysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Immunopharmacological potential ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2025
    Review
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7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Feng Fang
Lei Liu
Yang Yang
Zenshiro Tamaki
Jun Wei
Roberta G Marangoni
Swati Bhattacharyya
Ross S Summer
Boping Ye
John Varga
Northwestern University · USChina Pharmaceutical University · CNBoston University · US

Funding

Adiponectin inhibits activation and injury of lung endotheliumR01HL105490 · NHLBI · THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY · PI SUMMER, ROSS S · 2011 to 2015
$1.9M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL105490NIAMS NIH HHS AR-42309
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionFibrosis in scleroderma is associated with collagen deposition and myofibroblast accumulation. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), a master regulator of adipogenesis, inhibits profibrotic responses induced by transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-β), and its expression is impaired in scleroderma. The roles of adiponectin, a PPAR-γ regulated pleiotropic adipokine, in regulating the response of fibroblasts and in mediating the effects of PPAR-γ are unknown.

methodsRegulation of fibrotic gene expression and TGF-ß signaling by adiponectin and adenosine monophosphate protein-activated (AMP) kinase agonists were examined in normal fibroblasts in monolayer cultures and in three-dimensional skin equivalents. AdipoR1/2 expression on skin fibroblasts was determined by real-time quantitative PCR.

resultsAdiponectin, an adipokine directly regulated by PPAR-γ, acts as a potent anti-fibrotic signal in normal and scleroderma fibroblasts that abrogates the stimulatory effects of diverse fibrotic stimuli and reduces elevated collagen gene expression in scleroderma fibroblasts. Adiponectin responses are mediated via AMP kinase, a fuel-sensing cellular enzyme that is necessary and sufficient for down-regulation of fibrotic genes by blocking canonical Smad signaling. Moreover, we demonstrate that endogenous adiponectin accounts, at least in part, for the anti-fibrotic effects exerted by ligands of PPAR-γ.

conclusionsThese findings reveal a novel link between cellular energy metabolism and extracellular matrix homeostasis converging on AMP kinase. Since the levels of adiponectin as well as its receptor are impaired in scleroderma patients with progressive fibrosis, the present results suggest a potential role for defective adiponectin expression or function in progressive fibrogenesis in scleroderma and other chronic fibrosing conditions. Restoring the adiponectin signaling axis in fibroblasts might, therefore, represent a novel pharmacological approach to controlling fibrosis.

Indexed as

ActinsAdenylate KinaseAdiponectinAdultCells, CulturedCollagenFemaleFibroblastsFibrosisHumansMaleMiddle AgedPPAR gammaScleroderma, SystemicSkinTransforming Growth Factor betaActinsAdenylate KinaseAdiponectinCollagenPPAR gammaTransforming Growth Factor beta

Identifiers

PMID23092446
PMCPMC3580540
OpenAlexW2137634570

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.