The role of fat topology in the risk of disease

Abstract

Clustering of multiple risk factors such as impaired glucose metabolism, lipid disorders and hypertension has been shown to be the major background of atherosclerotic diseases, and disease entities such as the metabolic syndrome represent a highly atherogenic state. Although these common risks may generally co-exist by accident in one individual, clustering of multiple risk factors in the metabolic syndrome does not occur by accident, and there should be a key player for the syndrome. In 1983, we reported the method for fat analysis using computed tomography scan, which enables us to analyze intra-abdominal visceral adiposity as well as subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat accumulation has been shown to cause impaired glucose metabolism, lipid disorders, and hypertension, and therefore it is considered to be a key player in the metabolic syndrome. To clarify the mechanism by which visceral fat accumulation causes a variety of metabolic and vascular diseases, we studied the molecular characteristics of adipose tissue and adipocytes by investigating expressed genes in visceral and subcutaneous adipocytes and revealed that adipocytes, especially visceral adipocytes, secrete a variety of bioactive substances, the so-called adipocytokines. We showed that visceral fat accumulation causes abnormalities in adipocytokine secretion, such as hypersecretion of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, which is related to thrombogenic vascular diseases. More importantly, we discovered an important benign adipocytokine named adiponectin, which protects against the development of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, inflammation, and atherosclerotic vascular diseases. Plasma levels of adiponectin decreased in individuals with visceral fat accumulation, and hypoadiponectinemia caused by visceral fat accumulation might be one of the major causes of metabolic syndrome.

Adipocytokines and endothelial function in preeclamptic women

“…16 Similarly, the results from our study showed that women with preeclampsia had increased plasma concentrations of leptin, PAI-1 and IL-6, but decreased concentrations of adiponectin.…”

“…Although BMI and body weight gain during pregnancy did not differ between preeclamptic women and controls, they are both negatively correlated with plasma adiponectin concentrations in preeclamptic women. As decreased plasma adiponectin concentrations have been reported to be associated with increased visceral fat volume, 16 our results suggest that visceral adipose tissue may accumulate during pregnancy in women with preeclampsia. The mechanism to decrease adiponectin production on accumulated visceral adipose tissue is regarded as TNF-a-dependent pathway.…”

Associations between abdominal fat and body mass index on vitamin D status in a group of Spanish schoolchildren

“…In fact, the children with the highest waist and waist/height values (450th percentile) were at a greater risk of having a serum 25(OH)D concentration of o70 nmol/l (Table 4). Visceral adipose tissue may have a greater metabolic activity than its subcutaneous counterpart (Matsuzawa, 2008); the sequestration of vitamin D by the former is therefore likely to be Vitamin D status and anthropometric variables E Rodrı´guez-Rodríguez et al greater. More studies are needed to test this hypothesis and to confirm the present findings.…”

Laminitis and the Equine Metabolic Syndrome

“…48,49 The adipokine repertoire produced by any single adipose repository is probably different depending on the location and many other factors. 50 Certain repositories of adipose tissue (e.g., omental and mesenteric fat in obese human patients) are characterized by the acquisition of an activated macrophage population that secretes proinflammatory cytokines into the venous effluent. 51,52 In obese individuals, these leukocyte-derived cytokines are released in substantial quantities and exert a systemic (endocrine) action.…”