Adipose tissue-mediated inflammation: the missing link between obesity and cardiovascular disease?
Until relatively recently, the role of adipose tissue in the development of obesity and its consequences was considered to be a passive one. Mounting evidence highlights the role of adipose tissue in the development of a systemic inflammatory state that contributes to obesity-associated vasculopathy and cardiovascular risk. It is now clear that, in addition to storing calories as triglycerides, adipocytes secrete a large variety of cytokines, chemokines and hormone-like factors, such as leptin, resistin, and acute-phase proteins. In addition, insulin resistance, both in nondiabetic and diabetic subjects, is frequently associated with obesity, particularly with an excess of intraabdominal fat. This production of pro-atherogenic substances is of particular interest since an increase in the plasma levels of these mediators may provide a novel mechanistic link between obesity and its vascular complications.
Calabrò
Paolo
P
Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiothoracic Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. paolo.calabro@unina2.it
Golia
Enrica
E
Maddaloni
Valeria
V
Malvezzi
Marco
M
Casillo
Beniamino
B
Marotta
Carla
C
Calabrò
Raffaele
R
Golino
Paolo
P
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D018570:Risk Assessment
D018836:Inflammation Mediators