title: Adipose tissue-mediated inflammation: the missing link between obesity and cardiovascular disease?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiothoracic Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. paolo.calabro@unina2.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calabrò
authors.forename: Enrica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Golia
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maddaloni
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malvezzi
authors.forename: Beniamino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Casillo
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marotta
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calabrò
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Golino
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators