title: Adipose tissue remodeling and obesity.
abstract: To fulfill its role as the major energy-storing tissue, adipose has several unique properties that cannot be seen in any other organ, including an almost unlimited capacity to expand in a non-transformed state. As such, the tissue requires potent mechanisms to remodel, acutely and chronically. Adipocytes can rapidly reach the diffusional limit of oxygen during growth; hypoxia is therefore an early determinant that limits healthy expansion. Proper expansion requires a highly coordinated response among many different cell types, including endothelial precursor cells, immune cells, and preadipocytes. There are therefore remarkable similarities between adipose expansion and growth of solid tumors, a phenomenon that presents both an opportunity and a challenge, since pharmacological interventions supporting healthy adipose tissue adaptation can also facilitate tumor growth.
authors.affiliation: Touchstone Diabetes Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-8549, USA.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kusminski
authors.forename: Philipp E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Scherer
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D017667:Adipocytes / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D048429:Cell Size; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids