FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet J / Adiponectin and leptin are related to fat mass in horses.
Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)2005; 172(3); 460-465; doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2005.05.002

Adiponectin and leptin are related to fat mass in horses.

Abstract: Plasma concentrations of adiponectin and leptin were measured in 23 mature Standardbred mares (age: 10+/-3 years) and 12 weanling fillies (10 Quarter Horse/Belgian crossbreds and two Quarter Horses; aged: 4+/-3 months) to test the hypothesis that adipocytokines are proportional to adiposity in horses. Rump fat thickness was measured using B-mode ultrasound and percent body fat (% fat) calculated using a published formula for the estimation of fatness in horses. Plasma adiponectin and leptin were determined using radioimmunoassay. In the absence of purified equine adiponectin or leptin, results were expressed as human equivalents (HE) of immunoreactive (ir) adipocytokines. Plasma ir-leptin HE concentration was positively correlated (r=0.543; P<0.001) with percent body fat and (r=0.556; P<0.001) to fat mass in all horses. The plasma ir-leptin HE concentration was lower (P=0.03) in weanlings (1.90+/-0.34 ng/mL HE) than in mature mares (3.47+/-0.50 ng/mL HE). The ratio of ir-adiponectin HE to ir-leptin HE was negatively correlated (r=-0.621; P<0.001) to percent fat and (r=-631; P<0.001) to fat mass in all horses. The ratio of ir-adiponectin HE to ir-leptin HE was higher (P<0.001) in weanlings (3.04+/-0.51) than mature mares (1.03+/-0.13). These data suggest that leptin is proportional while adiponectin is inversely proportional to adiposity in horses.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2005-06-29 PubMed ID: 15996495DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2005.05.002Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research article suggests that in horses, the levels of the hormones leptin and adiponectin are related to body fat, with leptin increasing and adiponectin decreasing with greater fat mass.

Methodology

  • The researchers studied 23 mature Standardbred mares and 12 weanling fillies, with the latter including 10 Quarter Horse/Belgian crossbreds and two Quarter Horses.
  • Rump fat thickness was measured using B-mode ultrasound, and body fat percentage was calculated using a previously published formula designed for horses.
  • Plasma levels of adiponectin and leptin were determined using radioimmunoassay, a common technique in lab medicine that uses the principle of antibody-antigen binding to measure the amount of a substance.

Results

  • The study indicated a positive correlation between plasma leptin concentration and body fat percentage, as well as fat mass in all horses. This means as body fat increases, plasma leptin levels also increase.
  • Conversely, the ratio of adiponectin to leptin was negatively correlated with body fat percentage and fat mass. This suggests as the fat mass increases, adiponectin levels decrease, or remain constant while leptin levels rise. This is why the ratio of adiponectin to leptin decreases as fat mass increases.
  • The study also found that the plasma leptin concentration was lower in young horses (weanlings) compared to mature mares, and the ratio of adiponectin to leptin was higher in the young horses. This may suggest age-related variations in the relationship between these hormones and body adiposity.

Conclusion

  • This study provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that adipocytokines, specifically adiponectin and leptin, are indicative of adiposity (the quality or state of being fat) in horses.
  • Specifically, it suggests that leptin levels rise with increased fat mass, while adiponectin levels decrease, or stay the same as leptin rises with increased fat mass.

Cite This Article

APA
Kearns CF, McKeever KH, Roegner V, Brady SM, Malinowski K. (2005). Adiponectin and leptin are related to fat mass in horses. Vet J, 172(3), 460-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2005.05.002

Publication

Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
ISSN: 1090-0233
NlmUniqueID: 9706281
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 172
Issue: 3
Pages: 460-465

Researcher Affiliations

Kearns, Charles F
  • Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Science, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
McKeever, Kenneth H
    Roegner, Vivien
      Brady, Shannon M
        Malinowski, Karyn

          MeSH Terms

          • Adiponectin / blood
          • Adipose Tissue / metabolism
          • Animals
          • Body Weight
          • Female
          • Horses / blood
          • Horses / metabolism
          • Leptin / blood
          • Linear Models

          Citations

          This article has been cited 17 times.
          1. Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Piórkowska K, Ropka-Molik K. Equine Metabolic Syndrome: A Complex Disease Influenced by Multifactorial Genetic Factors.. Genes (Basel) 2023 Jul 27;14(8).
            doi: 10.3390/genes14081544pubmed: 37628596google scholar: lookup
          2. Hallman I, Karikoski N, Kareskoski M. The effects of obesity and insulin dysregulation on mare reproduction, pregnancy, and foal health: a review.. Front Vet Sci 2023;10:1180622.
            doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1180622pubmed: 37152686google scholar: lookup
          3. Loos CMM, Urschel KL, Vanzant ES, Oberhaus EL, Bohannan AD, Klotz JL, McLeod KR. Effects of Bromocriptine on Glucose and Insulin Dynamics in Normal and Insulin Dysregulated Horses.. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:889888.
            doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.889888pubmed: 35711802google scholar: lookup
          4. Siwinska N, Janus I, Zak-Bochenek A, Noszczyk-Nowak A. Influence of Obesity on Histological Tissue Structure of the Cardiovascular System in Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Mar 15;12(6).
            doi: 10.3390/ani12060732pubmed: 35327129google scholar: lookup
          5. Weinert-Nelson JR, Meyer WA, Williams CA. Yield, nutrient composition, and horse condition in integrated crabgrass and cool-season grass rotational grazing pasture systems.. Transl Anim Sci 2021 Oct;5(4):txab208.
            doi: 10.1093/tas/txab208pubmed: 34859200google scholar: lookup
          6. Horn R, Stewart AJ, Jackson KV, Dryburgh EL, Medina-Torres CE, Bertin FR. Clinical implications of using adrenocorticotropic hormone diagnostic cutoffs or reference intervals to diagnose pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction in mature horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Jan;35(1):560-570.
            doi: 10.1111/jvim.16017pubmed: 33368633google scholar: lookup
          7. Ferlazzo A, Cravana C, Fazio E, Medica P. The different hormonal system during exercise stress coping in horses.. Vet World 2020 May;13(5):847-859.
            doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.847-859pubmed: 32636578google scholar: lookup
          8. Knecht D, Środoń S, Czyż K. Does the Degree of Fatness and Muscularity Determined by Ultrasound Method Affect Sows' Reproductive Performance?. Animals (Basel) 2020 May 3;10(5).
            doi: 10.3390/ani10050794pubmed: 32375282google scholar: lookup
          9. Meier A, de Laat M, Reiche D, Fitzgerald D, Sillence M. The efficacy and safety of velagliflozin over 16 weeks as a treatment for insulin dysregulation in ponies.. BMC Vet Res 2019 Feb 26;15(1):65.
            doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-1811-2pubmed: 30808423google scholar: lookup
          10. Durham AE, Frank N, McGowan CM, Menzies-Gow NJ, Roelfsema E, Vervuert I, Feige K, Fey K. ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome.. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Mar;33(2):335-349.
            doi: 10.1111/jvim.15423pubmed: 30724412google scholar: lookup
          11. Biddle AS, Tomb JF, Fan Z. Microbiome and Blood Analyte Differences Point to Community and Metabolic Signatures in Lean and Obese Horses.. Front Vet Sci 2018;5:225.
            doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00225pubmed: 30294603google scholar: lookup
          12. Robles M, Nouveau E, Gautier C, Mendoza L, Dubois C, Dahirel M, Lagofun B, Aubrière MC, Lejeune JP, Caudron I, Guenon I, Viguié C, Wimel L, Bouraima-Lelong H, Serteyn D, Couturier-Tarrade A, Chavatte-Palmer P. Maternal obesity increases insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation and osteochondrosis lesions in foals and yearlings until 18 months of age.. PLoS One 2018;13(1):e0190309.
            doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190309pubmed: 29373573google scholar: lookup
          13. An Q, Zhou H, Hu J, Luo Y, Hickford JGH. Haplotypes of the Ovine Adiponectin Gene and Their Association with Growth and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Romney Lambs.. Genes (Basel) 2017 Jun 12;8(6).
            doi: 10.3390/genes8060160pubmed: 28604630google scholar: lookup
          14. Selim S, Elo K, Jaakkola S, Karikoski N, Boston R, Reilas T, Särkijärvi S, Saastamoinen M, Kokkonen T. Relationships among Body Condition, Insulin Resistance and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Gene Expression during the Grazing Season in Mares.. PLoS One 2015;10(5):e0125968.
            doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125968pubmed: 25938677google scholar: lookup
          15. Li G, Lee P, Mori N, Yamamoto I, Arai T. Long term intensive exercise training leads to a higher plasma malate/lactate dehydrogenase (M/L) ratio and increased level of lipid mobilization in horses.. Vet Res Commun 2012 Jun;36(2):149-55.
            doi: 10.1007/s11259-012-9515-0pubmed: 22297553google scholar: lookup
          16. Tvarijonaviciute A, Martínez-Subiela S, Ceron JJ. Validation of 2 commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for adiponectin determination in canine serum samples.. Can J Vet Res 2010 Oct;74(4):279-85.
            pubmed: 21197228
          17. Zhang L, Chen H, Lan X, Zhang C, Zhang L, Zhang A, Zhang Q, Lei C, Zhang H. The novel 5bp deletion polymorphism in the promoter region of bovine ACRP30 gene.. Mol Biol Rep 2009 May;36(5):895-9.
            doi: 10.1007/s11033-008-9260-1pubmed: 18446445google scholar: lookup
          Subscribe to our newsletter
          Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.