Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jan 16;156(1-2):20-44.
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.12.012.

What we talk about when we talk about fat

Evan D Rosen  1 , Bruce M Spiegelman  2
Affiliations
Review

What we talk about when we talk about fat

Evan D Rosen et al. Cell. .

Abstract

There has been an upsurge of interest in the adipocyte coincident with the onset of the obesity epidemic and the realization that adipose tissue plays a major role in the regulation of metabolic function. The past few years, in particular, have seen significant changes in the way that we classify adipocytes and how we view adipose development and differentiation. We have new perspective on the roles played by adipocytes in a variety of homeostatic processes and on the mechanisms used by adipocytes to communicate with other tissues. Finally, there has been significant progress in understanding how these relationships are altered during metabolic disease and how they might be manipulated to restore metabolic health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Interest in adipose biology has risen over time
Papers were identified in Pubmed using the term “adipose” for each year from 1900-2012 and expressed as total number of adipose papers (blue) and adipose papers as a percentage of all papers (red). Important events in adipose biology research are indicated by publication date. We are now in the midst of the second surge of interest in adipose biology in the last century.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Different origins for distinct types of adipocyte
White and beige adipocytes derive from Pax7-/Myf5- cells, via distinct precursor cells. Beige adipocytes differentiate following activation by cold or other inducers. After cold challenge is removed, these cells become inactive, taking on the morphology of a ‘white’ adipocyte. Classic brown fat, in contrast, comes from a Pax7+/Myf5+ lineage shared with skeletal muscle.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Activators of beige/brown fat development and function
Many inducers of browning and enhanced thermogenesis have been discovered. Some of these agents appear to work primarily by inducing the formation of new beige (e.g. irisin) or brown (e,g. BMP7) adipocytes while others may act on both recruitment and enhancement of thermogenic potential.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Immune cells are integral components of the fat pad in leanness and obesity
The lean fat depot contains many types of immune cell, dominated by resident M2 macrophages, eosinophils, and Tregs. In the setting of overnutrition, there is accumulation of proinflammatory cells, including M1 macrophages, mast cells, and various T lymphocyte classes.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Adipocyte-matrix interactions play a role in the pathology of obesity
Adipocytes secrete numerous matrix proteins that maintain the structure of the depot. During overnutrition, adipocytes increase in size until further expansion becomes limited by the matrix, which undergoes fibrotic changes. This triggers changes that include hypoxia, inflammation, and cell death, all of which contribute to insulin resistance.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Adipose cross-talk with other tissues
Adipocytes store and release calories to the body generally, but numerous examples have emerged demonstrating additional roles of fat in a wide array of biological processes. These examples given here are illustrative, and not exhaustive.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahmadian M, Abbott MJ, Tang T, Hudak CS, Kim Y, Bruss M, Hellerstein MK, Lee HY, Samuel VT, Shulman GI, et al. Desnutrin/ATGL is regulated by AMPK and is required for a brown adipose phenotype. Cell metabolism. 2011;13:739–748. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahmadian M, Suh JM, Hah N, Liddle C, Atkins AR, Downes M, Evans RM. PPARgamma signaling and metabolism: the good, the bad and the future. Nature medicine. 2013;19:557–566. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alvarez R, de Andres J, Yubero P, Vinas O, Mampel T, Iglesias R, Giralt M, Villarroya F. A novel regulatory pathway of brown fat thermogenesis. Retinoic acid is a transcriptional activator of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein gene. The Journal of biological chemistry. 1995;270:5666–5673. - PubMed
    1. Arch JR. beta(3)-Adrenoceptor agonists: potential, pitfalls and progress. European journal of pharmacology. 2002;440:99–107. - PubMed
    1. Asilmaz E, Cohen P, Miyazaki M, Dobrzyn P, Ueki K, Fayzikhodjaeva G, Soukas AA, Kahn CR, Ntambi JM, Socci ND, et al. Site and mechanism of leptin action in a rodent form of congenital lipodystrophy. The Journal of clinical investigation. 2004;113:414–424. - PMC - PubMed