Characteristics of Adipocytes and Their Role in Obesity-Related Inflammation
Chen Sisi, Li Yuan, Xu Keye, Li Yan, Li Mingcai*
In obesity, the accumulation of low-grade chronic inflammation in adipose tissue can lead to dysfunction of adipose tissue and imbalance of energy metabolism in the whole body. Low-grade systemic inflammation may be associated with several metabolic disorders or worsening of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Adipocytes have complex biological characteristics, which can selectively activate different metabolic pathways to respond to environmental stimuli.It has been demonstrated that adipocytes can easily differentiate and dedifferentiate under appropriate stimulation, thus converting themselves into different phenotypes according to metabolic needs. Although the underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood, the increase in adipocyte size and the inability to store triglycerides under overfeeding seem to be crucial for metabolic dysfunction,characterized by activation of inflammatory and apoptotic pathways and secretion of pro-inflammatory adipokines. In obesity, changes in adipokines secretion, as well as adipocyte imbalance and fatty acid release into the circulation, contribute to maintain the activation of immune cells and their infiltration into regulatory organs. Recent studies found that adipocytes also regulate the activity of immune cells such as macrophages, neutrophils and regulatory T cells associated with obesity inflammation. Understanding adipocyte regulatory pathways and dedifferentiation processes may be useful in developing new strategies to suppress obesity-related inflammation and related metabolic disorders.
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