Chemerin in renal dysfunction and cardiovascular disease

The potential involvement of chemerin in cardiovascular and renal dysfunction has recently been acknowledged. There are indeed many links between this protein and inflammation, atherosclerosis, and multiple obesity- and diabetes-related parameters such as body mass index, insulin resistance, and blood levels of insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose. In addition, in the last few years, several reports have investigated the circulating chemerin levels and their pathophysiologic significance in chronic kidney disease populations. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of this matter, in particular as to whether elevated chemerin might be the cause behind, or simply mirror, a reduced renal function. The limitations of the present knowledge on chemerin may partly relate to the lack of specific antibodies for assessing the different active isoforms of the protein. Measuring its bioactive serum concentration, and achieving a precise overall pattern of the tissue-specific formation of different isoforms, with the use of suitable technology, will ultimately help define the role of chemerin in disease pathophysiology, or as a diagnostic or therapeutic marker.