ADIPOQ and metabolic syndrome: For this reason, recent studies have investigated the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome in order to identify markers predictive of its onset, such as the adipokines adiponectin and leptin; the lipid markers lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and apolipoprotein B (apoB); the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6); and the peptide endothelin (ET-1) [22].