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T-ing up inflammation in fat

Nature Medicine volume 15, pages 846–847 (2009)Cite this article

Obesity generates a proinflammatory environment in adipose tissue, but the factors that initiate this inflammatory cascade have been unclear. Three studies now show that alterations in the composition of adipose tissue T cells occur early in obesity and shape the relationship between immunity and metabolism (pages 914–920, 921–929 and 930–939).

Adipocytes provide a flexible storage depot for excess nutrients, a property that creates a valuable resource during starvation. Adipocytes are also endocrine cells, secreting hormones that regulate energy intake and expenditure throughout the body. With overnutrition, however, adipocytes are pushed to the limits of their ability to store lipids and to regulate nutrient metabolism, and along with obesity comes an increase in inflammatory marker expression1. The cells of the innate immune system regulate these processes, in particular adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), which make up a large proportion of the nonadipose cells in adipose tissue. ATMs infiltrate fat at the later stages of obesity and can cause some of the complications of the condition, particularly, insulin resistance.

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Figure 1: Alterations in adipose tissue T (ATT) cells with obesity regulate the inflammatory environment in fat.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carey N. Lumeng is in the Departments of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,

    Carey N. Lumeng

  2. Ivan Maillard is in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,

    Ivan Maillard

  3. Alan R. Saltiel is in the Departments of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Internal Medicine and the Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,

    Alan R. Saltiel

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  1. Carey N. Lumeng
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Correspondence to Alan R. Saltiel.

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Lumeng, C., Maillard, I. & Saltiel, A. T-ing up inflammation in fat. Nat Med 15, 846–847 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0809-846

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