Vaspin

Vaspin, the visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin encoded by SERPINA12, is a circulating adipokine first identified in the visceral fat of an obese rat strain. It exerts insulin-sensitizing and anti-inflammatory effects, improving glucose tolerance in animal models of obesity and diabetes, and it protects endothelial cells by inhibiting kallikrein 7 and other proteases implicated in vascular injury. Circulating vaspin levels correlate with body mass index, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes status, making it a metabolic biomarker of interest. Recombinant vaspin is used in adipokine signaling studies, protease inhibition assays, and preclinical work on obesity-related vascular and metabolic disease.