Journal
CURRENT OPINION IN CLINICAL NUTRITION AND METABOLIC CARE
Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 347-354Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/01.mco.0000172571.41149.52
Keywords
adipocyte; cytokine; endothelial cell; inflammation; obesity
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purpose of review White adipose tissue is necessary for optimal energy homeostasis and the excessive development of fat mass is clearly associated with the metabolic syndrome. The fact that adipocytes secrete a number of specific factors or 'adipokines' has forced a reassessment of the involvement of adipose tissue in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Obesity has recently been described as a 'low-grade' inflammatory condition, a state proposed to represent a common determinator in the genesis of obesity-associated pathologies, i.e. diabetes and atherosclerosis. Recent findings Recent reports of an increase in the number of macrophages that infiltrate the fat mass in obese individuals led to the suggestion that adipose tissue itself is a source and site of inflammation. Summary This review summarizes recent data on the characterization of the macrophage population in fat tissue. Their origin, fate and activation will be considered. The potential involvement of adipose tissue macrophages in the development of insulin resistance and vascular pathologies, as well as in the control of adipose tissue growth and metabolism, will be examined.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available