Objective: To observe the level of plasma adiponectin (APN) in patients with wet age related macular degeneration (wet AMD) as well as the expression levels of the APN receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).Methods:Fifteen patients with an average age of (69.07±6.71) year-old (excluding patients with diabetes mellitus

hypertension

hyperlipidaemia

nephropathy

coronary heart disease

heart failure and renal failure) were enrolled as the case group while 15 healthy subjects with an average age of (64.2±7.46) year-old were enrolled as the control group.The level of plasma APN was assessed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and the expression levels of APN receptors in PBMC were examined by real time quantitative PCR.The correlations between plasma APN and clinical indicators

the expression levels of APN receptors

homeostasis model assessment indexes of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation.Results:APN concentrations in the case group were significantly lower than those in the control group ［(1.18±0.65) μg/ml vs.(2.00±0.63) μg /ml

P=0.002］.Blood glucose was significantly higher in the case group compared with those in the control group［(5.42±0.64)mmol/L vs.(4.79±0.39) mmol/L

P=0.003］.However

there was no significant difference in mRNA levels of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 in PBMC between the two groups (P>0.05).Conclusion:Plasma APN concentration is lower in patients with wet AMD

indicating that APN-related insulin resistance may be involved in the pathologic neovascularization of wet AMD.