ADIPOQ and systemic sclerosis: Also noteworthy in contemplating the relationship betweenlipodystrophy and fibrosis are the observations that the level of the adipocyte-produced cytokine adiponectin is reducedin the serum and skin of SSc patients and that adiponectin has anti-fibrotic effects including the inhibition of collagen expression by fibroblasts (Arakawa et al., 2011; Fang et al., 2012; Lakota et al., 2012).