Goralski Kerry B, Sinal Christopher J
College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 1X5, Canada.
Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Jan;85(1):113-32. doi: 10.1139/y06-092.
The increasing national prevalence of obesity is a major public health concern and a substantial burden on the health care resources of Canada. In addition to the direct health impact of obesity, this condition is a well-established risk factor for the development of various prevalent comorbidities including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Historically, adipose tissue has been regarded primarily as an organ for energy storage. However, the discovery of leptin in the mid 1990's revolutionized our understanding of this tissue and has focused attention on the endocrine function of adipose tissue as a source of secreted bioactive peptides. These compounds, collectively termed adipokines, regulate a number of biological functions including appetite and energy balance, insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, blood pressure, and inflammation. The physiological importance of adipokines has led to the hypothesis that changes in the synthesis and secretion of these compounds in the obese are a causative factor contributing to the development of obesity and obesity-related diseases in these individuals. Following from this it has been proposed that pharmacologic manipulation of adipokine levels may provide novel effective therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
全国肥胖率的不断上升是一个主要的公共卫生问题，也是加拿大医疗资源的沉重负担。除了肥胖对健康的直接影响外，这种情况还是包括2型糖尿病、高血压和心血管疾病在内的各种常见合并症发展的一个公认风险因素。从历史上看，脂肪组织主要被视为能量储存器官。然而，20世纪90年代中期瘦素的发现彻底改变了我们对该组织的理解，并将注意力集中在脂肪组织作为分泌生物活性肽来源的内分泌功能上。这些化合物统称为脂肪因子，调节多种生物学功能，包括食欲和能量平衡、胰岛素敏感性、脂质代谢、血压和炎症。脂肪因子的生理重要性导致了这样一种假设，即肥胖者中这些化合物合成和分泌的变化是导致这些个体肥胖和肥胖相关疾病发展的一个致病因素。由此提出，对脂肪因子水平进行药物调控可能为治疗和预防肥胖、2型糖尿病和心血管疾病提供新的有效治疗策略。
