Adiponectin is superior to rapamycin for endothelial health

It is always good to keep an eye on which drug or molecule outperforms which in key health measures, especially if it outperforms rapamycin, as apparently adiponectin outperforms rapamycin in the crucial aspect of endothelial health:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epub/10.1161/ATVBAHA.110.216804

Adiponectin Induces Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation via Repression of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 and FoxO4

I believe this is meant for stent coatings, not for oral use.

Yep, but rapamycin systemically still addresses the endothelium, just as adiponectin does. What it tells me is that rapamycin is not going to be a #1 star when it comes to keeping arteries clear (apart from maybe raising LDL!). For vascular health, we may have to look for more effective drugs.

Adiponectin plays a pivotal role in activating the AMPK signaling cascade (->FoxO). However, with aging, adiponectin levels tend to decrease significantly, making it a limiting factor for AMPK activation

One strategy to naturally increase adiponectin levels is the use of telmisartan (>=40mg). Telmisartan achieves this by acting as a partial agonist of PPAR-γ, a nuclear receptor that regulates adiponectin gene expression.

I am not at all familiar with adiponectin. However, if it promotes endothelial health, you would expect it to have a cardioprotective effect, and to reduce cardiac mortality. Yet a brief internet search indicates the opposite is true – there is an increase of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality with increased adiponectin levels, the so-called “adiponectin paradox”. I would be certainly cautious about using it. Seems to me that you’re much better off keeping your insulin resistance, obesity, and dyslipidemia under control, rather than tinkering with adiponectin.

However, I don’t claim expert knowledge at all, and am open to correction. If it is indeed a powerful way to improve endothelial health, I’d be very interested in it.

Thank you, @Dexter_Scott, was not aware about this fact… last studies (example: Analysis of the adiponectin paradox) pointing to possible causality issue: elevated adiponectin may be a compensatory mechanism in response to severe metabolic or inflammatory stress → Its increase might signal advanced disease rather than directly causing harm. But it is only one possible explanation…

I would be surprised if adiponectin is generaly harmful. It is produced by fat cells and you produce more the leaner you are. It’s particularly related to visceral fat mass, inversely, and it is increased in calorie restriction. It increases insulin sensitivity.