Haugen Fred, Drevon Christian A
Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1046, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
Proc Nutr Soc. 2007 May;66(2):171-82. doi: 10.1017/S0029665107005423.
The importance of adipose tissue in health as well as disease has been demonstrated in several studies recently, and it has become appropriate to use the term 'adipose organ' when referring to adipose tissue as a whole. The obesity epidemic, with a marked increase in the incidence of the metabolic syndrome leading to diabetes type 2 as well as cardiovascular complications, has stimulated considerable interest in adipose tissue biology. Moreover, several studies in different species have shown that limited energy intake is associated with less inflammation, improved biomarkers of health and a marked increase in longevity. In addition, there is convincing evidence that an optimal amount of adipose tissue is essential for many body functions such as immune response, reproduction and bone quality. Some nutrients and their metabolites are important as energy sources as well as ligands for many transcription factors expressed in adipose tissue, including all energy-providing nutrients both directly and indirectly as well as cholesterol, vitamin E and vitamin D. In particular, fatty acids can be effectively taken up by adipocytes and they can interact with several transcription factors crucial for growth, development and metabolic response, e.g. PPARalpha, -delta and -gamma, sterol regulatory element-binding proteins1 and 2 and liver X receptors alpha and beta). Moreover, glucose is also readily taken up and stored as fatty acids via lipogenesis in adipocytes. It is known that some metabolic signals released as proteins from adipose tissue (adipokines) are important for normal as well as pathological responses to the amount of energy stored in the adipose organ. The future challenge will be to understand the function of adipose tissue in energy homeostasis and the interplay with nutrients in order to be able to give optimal advice for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
近期的多项研究已证实脂肪组织在健康和疾病中的重要性，将脂肪组织作为一个整体来提及“脂肪器官”这一术语已变得恰当。肥胖流行，代谢综合征发病率显著上升，导致2型糖尿病以及心血管并发症，这激发了人们对脂肪组织生物学的浓厚兴趣。此外，针对不同物种的多项研究表明，能量摄入受限与炎症减轻、健康生物标志物改善以及寿命显著延长相关。此外，有令人信服的证据表明，适量的脂肪组织对免疫反应、生殖和骨质等许多身体功能至关重要。一些营养素及其代谢产物不仅作为能源很重要，而且作为脂肪组织中表达的许多转录因子的配体也很重要，包括所有直接和间接提供能量的营养素以及胆固醇、维生素E和维生素D。特别是，脂肪酸可被脂肪细胞有效摄取，并且它们可与对生长、发育和代谢反应至关重要的几种转录因子相互作用，例如过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体α、δ和γ、固醇调节元件结合蛋白1和2以及肝X受体α和β）。此外，葡萄糖也易于被摄取并通过脂肪细胞中的脂肪生成储存为脂肪酸。众所周知，一些作为蛋白质从脂肪组织释放的代谢信号（脂肪因子）对于对脂肪器官中储存的能量量的正常以及病理反应很重要。未来的挑战将是了解脂肪组织在能量稳态中的功能以及与营养素的相互作用，以便能够为肥胖的预防和治疗提供最佳建议。
