From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Resistin also known as adipose tissue-specific secretory factor (ADSF) or C/EBP-epsilon-regulated myeloid-specific secreted cysteine-rich protein (XCP1) is a cysteine-rich adipose-derived peptide hormone that in humans is encoded by the RETN gene.esistin has been shown to cause high levels of 'bad' cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL), increasing the risk of heart disease [...] resistin increases the production of LDL in human liver cells and also degrades LDL receptors in the liver.