Expression Of Adiponectin In Perivascular Tissue Of Saphenous Vein Which Is Harvested By The No-touch Technique

Background: The saphenous vein is commonly used for coronary artery bypass surgery butits long term patency is poor. Vascular damage occurs during conventional surgery.However, patency improves when the graft is harvested by the no-touch technique, partlydue to preservation of perivascular tissue, much of which is fat. Perivascular tissue is thesource of adipocyte-derived relaxing factors, one of which is adiponectin. The aim is todetect whether adiponectin is expressed by the perivascular fat of saphenous vein which isharvested by the no-touch technique in coronary artery bypass surgery.Methods: Immunostaining for adiponectin was performed on vein graft sections andWestern blotting was used to identify adiponectin protein.Results: There was dense adiponectin immunostaining on fat and adipocyte membranessurrounding these no-touch SV grafts. Adiponectin protein was identified in perivascular fatextracts by Western blot analysis.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that PVF-derived adiponectin may play an importantrole in the improved long-term performance of no-touch SVs in patients undergoingCABG.