title: Activins in adipogenesis and obesity.
abstract: Activins are secreted proteins members of the transforming growth factor-β family. They are involved in many biological responses including regulation of apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation of different cell types. Activins A, B and AB are highly expressed in adipose tissue, and in this review we will illustrate that activins have a role in several steps of physiological and pathological development of adipose tissue. Activin A has been shown to be a critical regulator of human adipocyte progenitor proliferation and a potent inhibitor of their differentiation. Activin A could also be a mediator of fibrosis observed in obese adipose tissue. Activin B/AB is proposed as a new adipokine having a role in energy balance and insulin insensitivity associated with obesity. Therefore, activin pathway could represent a potential therapeutic target both for controlling the size and the phenotype of the adipose precursor pool and for obesity-associated metabolic complications.
authors.affiliation: Institute Biology of Valrose (iBV), CNRS/Inserm, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, Cedex, France. dani@unice.fr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dani
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D050156:Adipogenesis; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D038681:Follistatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D038681:Follistatin; C422405:activin A; C044147:activin B; D028341:Activins