In adult mice CTRP3 is considered an adipokine, as it is predominantly expressed in adipose tissue (55, 56, 75), indicating that CTRP3 may have a functional role in energy storage and metabolism. However, CTRP3 is also expressed in the lung, kidneys, spleen, testis, and macrophages with moderate expression in heart, bone, small intestine, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, and vascular smooth muscle cells (1, 43, 44, 47, 51, 54, 59, 75, 76, 90). Combined these data indicate that CTRP3 has a variety of factors which could contribute to its regulation and function. In the following sections we will detail the experimental evidence regarding the functional activity of CTRP3 in regards to metabolism, cardiovascular health, inflammation, and growth and development.
