We recently obtained in vitro evidence suggesting a role for the newly identified adipokine, asprosin (ASP), in obesity. To strengthen these preliminary observations, we analyzed ASP mRNA levels in adipose tissue samples obtained from 21 (7 males, 14 females) subjects who underwent bariatric surgery (mean age=41±9; mean BMI=47.2±6.8). ASP mRNA levels were higher in male than in female patients and significantly greater in subjects with a family history of diabetes (p=0.014 by T-test). Furthermore, ASP mRNA levels showed a direct correlation with inflammatory parameters (Fibrinogen, Pearson’s r=0.36, p=0.081; C-reactive protein, Pearson’s r=0.40, p=0.044); these data are in keeping with our previous observation that 3T3L1 mouse adipocytes exposed to a pro-inflammatory milieu synthesize and release higher ASP amounts. ASP mRNA expression in human adipose tissue also showed a significant correlation with fasting plasma glucose concentration (Pearson’s r=0.39, p=0.060); in line with the increased ASP synthesis in 3T3L1 adipocytes exposed to glucose toxicity. By contrast, we did not observe any correlation with body weight, BMI or fat mass percentage; this latest observation agrees with the decreased ASP expression in 3T3L1 cells exposed to hypoxia, a in vitro proxy of increased fat mass, and led us to hypothesize that ASP levels may be related with chronic inflammation/toxicity rather than with obesity per se. To gain support for this hypothesis, we measured ASP serum levels in a small cohort of obese subjects (mean age 44.3±15.2; mean BMI 48.8±8.82) and observed lower levels in individuals with a positive anamnesis for childhood obesity (early childhood 4.36±2.04 ng/ml, late childhood 3.88±2.72 ng/ml) as compared with those with a first diagnosis of obesity in adulthood (10.4±14.8 ng/ml). Interestingly, it is indeed possible to speculate that in obese children hypoxia may prevail upon inflammation. In conclusion, our data suggest that ASP may represent a potential biomarker to be exploited in the future for the design of tailored therapeutic approaches for different obesity phenotypes.