TY - JOUR T1 - Adiponectin Is Inversely Associated With Tumour Grade in Colorectal Cancer Patients JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 3751 LP - 3757 DO - 10.21873/anticanres.14364 VL - 40 IS - 7 AU - RITA POLITO AU - ERSILIA NIGRO AU - LANDINO FEI AU - LAURA DE MAGISTRIS AU - MARIA LUDOVICA MONACO AU - ROSA D'AMICO AU - SILVIO NAVIGLIO AU - GIUSEPPE SIGNORIELLO AU - AURORA DANIELE Y1 - 2020/07/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/7/3751.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: Colorectal cancer is frequently associated with metabolic diseases. Adiponectin (APN) is an insulin-sensitizing adipokine circulating as low molecular weight (LMW), medium molecular weight (MMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) oligomers; the latter are the most bio-active oligomers. APN, through AdipoR1, AdipoR2 and T-cadherin receptors, regulates inflammation, and proliferation. Considering the anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties of APN, we investigated the involvement of the “APN system” in colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 44 colorectal cancer patients and 51 healthy controls were recruited. We analysed APN and HMW oligomers in sera, AdipoR1, AdipoR2 and T-cadherin expression in non-cancerous and cancerous colon tissues. Results: we found statistically lower levels of APN in patients compared to controls, with a specific decrease of HMW oligomers. Importantly, APN correlated to cancer grade. AdipoR1 was found overexpressed in cancerous compared to non-cancerous tissues while AdipoR2 and T-cadherin were down-regulated. Conclusion: The deregulated expression of the “APN system” in colorectal cancer with a specific correlation to tumor grade suggests APN as a promising biomarker in colorectal cancer. ER -