Clinical significance of the resistin in clinical practice

Abstract

Resistin is a protein composed of 108 amino acids that is named after its supposed effect on the induction of insulin resistance in mice. It has a very important role as a regulator of adipogenesis, whereby it acts on adipose tissue. Associated with obesity, it is also known to participate in different metabolic processes, besides acting as a proinflammatory factor promoting the production of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the expression of cellular adhesion molecules. High levels of resistin have been associated with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, significantly influencing the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and endothelial cell damage. On the other hand, there are studies that support a role of resistin, not yet well known, with proangiogenic, antiapoptotic and even metastatic effects that could contribute to the appearance of different types of cancer, many of them related to obesity.