T-cadherin is a receptor for hexameric and high-molecular-weight forms of Acrp30/adiponectin.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Acrp30/adiponectin is reduced in the serum of obese and diabetic individuals, and the genetic locus of adiponectin is linked to the metabolic syndrome. Recombinant adiponectin, administered to diet-induced obese mice, induced weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity. In muscle and liver, adiponectin stimulates AMP-activated protein kinase activation and fatty acid oxidation. To expression-clone molecules capable of binding adiponectin, we transduced a C2C12 myoblast cDNA retroviral expression library into Ba/F3 cells and panned infected cells on recombinant adiponectin linked to magnetic beads. We identified T-cadherin as a receptor for the hexameric and high-molecular-weight species of adiponectin but not for the trimeric or globular species. Only eukaryotically expressed adiponectin bound to T-cadherin, implying that posttranslational modifications of adiponectin are critical for binding. An adiponectin mutant lacking a conserved N-terminal cysteine residue required for formation of hexamer and high-molecular-weight species did not bind T-cadherin in coimmunoprecipitation studies. Although lacking known cellular functions, T-cadherin is expressed in endothelial and smooth muscle cells, where it is positioned to interact with adiponectin. Because T-cadherin is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored extracellular protein, it may act as a coreceptor for an as-yet-unidentifi

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.