Association of serum and synovial adipokines (chemerin and resistin) with inflammatory markers and ultrasonographic evaluation scores in patients with knee joint osteoarthritis- a pilot study

Chemerin and resistin are adipokines studied as potential markers for early diagnosis and disease severity in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) Therefore, we aimed to investigate the associations serum and synovial levels of chemerin and resistin with inflammatory parameters and ultrasonographic scores (US) in KOA individuals. Serum was collected from 28 patients with KOA and synovial fluid was obtained from 16 of them. Another 31 age and sex matched cases with no joint disease were included as healthy controls. Concentrations of chemerin, resistin, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined with ELISA. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, serum uric acid (UA) were measured in the patients group. Participants with KOA underwent US assessment using the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) scores. Patients with KOA had statistically significant higher level of serum resistin than healthy controls [11.05 (3.78-24.13) ng/mL and 7.23 (3.83-12.19) respectively, p < 0.001]. A strong correlation was found between serum chemerin and ESR (r = 0.434, p = 0.021), uric acid (r = 0.573, p = 0.001) as well as the US (r=-0.872, p < 0.001). Serum resistin demonstrated significant association with TNF-alpha (r = 0.398, p = 0.044). In conclusion, both chemerin and resistin might contribute to inflammatory changes associated with KOA. Further studies are needed to elucidate their potential role in the pathogenesis of the disease.