Revisiting the adipocyte: a model for integration of cytokine signaling in the regulation of energy metabolism

Abstract

Adipose tissue constitutes an extremely active endocrine organ with a network of signaling pathways enabling the organism to adapt to a wide range of different metabolic challenges, such as starvation, stress, infection, and short periods of gross energy excess. The functional pleiotropism of adipose tissue relies on its ability to synthesize and release a huge variety of hormones, cytokines, complement and growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, and vasoactive factors, collectively termed adipokines. Obesity is associated with adipose tissue dysfunction leading to the onset of several pathologies including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver, or hypertension, among others. The mechanisms underlying the development of obesity and its associated comorbidities include the hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia of adipocytes, adipose tissue inflammation, impaired extracellular matrix remodeling, and fibrosis together with an altered secretion of adipokines. Recently, the potential role of brown and beige adipose tissue in the protection against obesity has been also recognized. In contrast to white adipocytes, which store energy in the form of fat, brown and beige fat cells display energy-dissipating capacity through the promotion of triacylglycerol clearance, glucose disposal, and generation of heat for thermogenesis. Identification of the morphological and molecular changes in white, beige, and brown adipose tissue during weight gain is of utmost relevance for the identification of pharmacological targets for the treatment of obesity and its associated metabolic diseases. white and brown adipogenesis; fat browning; adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia; adipose tissue inflammation; extracellular matrix remodeling THE ADIPOSE ORGAN REPRESENTS a special loose connective tissue containing adipocytes and several cell types surrounded by capillary and innervation networks (47, 79, 82). Adipocytes comprise ϳ35-70% of adipose mass, and the other cell types found in the stroma-vascular fraction include preadipocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, macrophages and other immune cells, and endothelial and smooth muscle cells, among others (79). The classical functions of adipose tissue are the storage of energy in the form of triacylglycerols (TG) and as thermal insulator. Adipocytes were formerly classified into two main types: white adipocytes, which store energy in the form of fat, and brown adipocytes, which induce thermogenesis (82). The current classification scheme includes a third category of adipocytes, termed beige or brite (brown-in-white) adipocytes, which can be considered inducible brown-like cells with thermogenic properties (340). Since the identification of leptin in 1994 (359), adipose tissue has emerged as an extremely active endocrine organ that secretes a huge variety of hormones, cytokines, growth factors, and vasoactive factors that are collectively termed adipokines (67, 81,235,262). Over the last three decades, overwhelming evidence has proven that adipokines not only influence adipobiol...

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