Obesity: Rethinking inflammation and adipocyte homeostasis

摘要

New research published in Cell Metabolism reveals a role for 'healthy inflammation' in adipose tissue, which is required for adipocyte remodelling and expansion. It is widely accepted that chronic systemic low-grade inflammation is associated with the development of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. Now, researchers from the Touchstone Diabetes Center at the University of Texas South Western Medical Center, USA, have uncovered a surprising role for localized acute inflammation in adipose tissue expansion, which is an important process for protecting against harmful deposition of lipids in tissues such as the liver.