The Biology of Adipose Tissue

Fat (white adipose tissue) stores energy and produces multiple chemical signals that communicate a state of health throughout the body. At a point in the development of obesity fat becomes sick, causing adipose tissue to dysfunction. Adipose tissue dysfunction is the key tipping point in metabolic disease. Adipose tissue dysfunction is the final common pathway of inflammation and it induces insulin resistance locally (adipose) and distally (muscle, liver). A simple increase in storage of fat is not sufficient to cause metabolic disease. Inflammation is the triggering event that causes adipose tissue to become sick and dysfunctional, leading to metabolic disease. This chapter will discuss the components of adipose tissue and the characteristics of different fat cells, discuss the role of hypoxia on inflammation, and define the key metabolic steps that lead to adipose tissue dysfunction.