Is adipose tissue metabolically different at different sites?

Abstract

This review focuses on metabolic differences of adipose tissue at different sites of the body, with emphasis in pediatrics. Adipose tissue is composed of various cell types, which include adipocytes and other cells of the stromal vascular fraction such as preadipocytes, blood cells, endothelial cells and macrophages. Mammals have two main types of adipose tissue: white adipose tissue (WAT), and brown adipose tissue (BAT), each of which possesses unique cell autonomous properties. WAT and BAT differ at the functional, as well as the morphological and molecular levels. WAT accumulates surplus energy mainly in the form of triacylglycerols and BAT dissipates energy directly as heat. Recently, functional BAT in humans has been located in the neck, supraclavicular, mediastinal and interscapular areas. WAT is distributed throughout the body in the form of two major types: subcutaneous adipose tissue (SWAT) and the intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VWAT). VWAT tissue is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, hepatic steatosis, and overall mortality whereas SWAT and BAT have intrinsic beneficial metabolic properties. Subcutaneous and visceral adipocytes derive from different progenitor cells that exhibit a different gene expression pattern. SWAT responds better to the antilipolytic effects of insulin and other hormones, secrets more adiponectin and less inflammatory cytokines, and is differentially affected by molecules involved in signal transduction as well as drugs compared with VWAT. Current research is investigating various approaches of BAT and SWAT transplantation, including new sources of adipocyte progenitors. This may be important for the potential treatment of childhood obesity.

NOX2 deficiency attenuates markers of adiposopathy and brain injury induced by high-fat diet

“…1A). Statistically, ANOVA for genotype X diet revealed a significant main effect of diet on body weight (F (1,35) ϭ 82.82, P Ͻ 0.0001). The effect of genotype on body weight was also significant (F (1,35) ϭ 2.27, P ϭ 0.030), but the interaction was not.…”

Endocrine effects of tobacco smoke exposure during lactation in weaned and adult male offspring

“…The morphological analysis of the subcutaneous and retroperitoneal adipose compartments of SE pups at weaning showed distinct responses to tobacco SE, which can be explained by the concept that visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues present distinct biological and functional characteristics (Ibrahin 2010, Gil et al 2011. The higher subcutaneous adipocyte area can be explained by its characteristic of triglyceride storage.…”

A method for the measurement of lactate, glycerol and fatty acid production from14C-glucose in primary cultures of rat epididymal adipocytes

“…The results obtained, and a growing list of unique capabilities of WAT [59][60][61][62][63][64] has decided us to focus on the quantitative analysis of WAT metabolism. Thus, we checked these parameters against the known functional and morphologic differences of WAT sites [65][66][67] , and their modulation by sex and diet 14,68 , as well as, especially, the effects of metabolic syndrome 69,70 . In our opinion, there is yet much to learn from WAT from the "basic" biochemical-metabolic point of view.…”