Circulating Adipokine VASPIN Is Associated with Serum Lipid Profiles in Humans

VASPIN, visceral adipose tissue‐derived serpin, is an adipokine ameliorating insulin resistance in obesity. Here, we investigated the role of VASPIN and its genetic variants in lipid metabolism. We measured serum VASPIN concentrations by ELISA in 823 metabolically well‐characterized Caucasian subjects (Sorbs from Germany). Furthermore, we genotyped 30 representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in two independent cohorts with metabolic phenotyping, the Sorbs (N = 823) and Leipzig (N = 919), and conducted genotype–phenotype association analyses. Circulating VASPIN strongly correlated with triacylglycerol levels (TAG; p = 1.079 × 10−11), and moderately with apolipoprotein A1 and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.026). Genetic variants in VASPIN were nominally associated with cholesterol, high‐density and low‐density lipoprotein (HDL‐chol, LDL‐chol), lipoprotein A, and apolipoprotein B as well as with TAG and free fatty acids (all p