British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, Scotland, UK.
British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, Scotland, UK
J Exp Biol. 2018 Mar 7;221(Pt Suppl 1):jeb164970. doi: 10.1242/jeb.164970.
Adipose morphology is defined as the number and size distribution of adipocytes (fat cells) within adipose tissue. Adipose tissue with fewer but larger adipocytes is said to have a 'hypertrophic' morphology, whereas adipose with many adipocytes of a smaller size is said to have a 'hyperplastic' morphology. Hypertrophic adipose morphology is positively associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. By contrast, hyperplastic morphology is associated with improved metabolic parameters. These phenotypic associations suggest that adipose morphology influences risk of cardiometabolic disease. Intriguingly, monozygotic twin studies have determined that adipose morphology is in part determined genetically. Therefore, identifying the genetic regulation of adipose morphology may help us to predict, prevent and ameliorate insulin resistance and associated metabolic diseases. Here, we review the current literature regarding adipose morphology in relation to: (1) metabolic and medical implications; (2) the methods used to assess adipose morphology; and (3) transcriptional differences between morphologies. We further highlight three mechanisms that have been hypothesized to promote adipocyte hypertrophy and thus to regulate adipose morphology.
脂肪形态学定义为脂肪组织中脂肪细胞（脂肪细胞）的数量和大小分布。脂肪组织中脂肪细胞数量较少但体积较大的，被称为具有“肥大”形态，而脂肪细胞数量较多且体积较小的，则被称为具有“增生”形态。肥大的脂肪形态与胰岛素抵抗、糖尿病和心血管疾病呈正相关。相比之下，增生的形态与改善的代谢参数相关。这些表型相关性表明脂肪形态影响心血管代谢疾病的风险。有趣的是，同卵双胞胎研究已经确定，脂肪形态部分是由遗传决定的。因此，鉴定脂肪形态的遗传调控可能有助于我们预测、预防和改善胰岛素抵抗和相关代谢疾病。在这里，我们回顾了关于脂肪形态的当前文献，涉及：（1）代谢和医学意义；（2）评估脂肪形态的方法；和（3）形态之间的转录差异。我们进一步强调了三种被假设为促进脂肪细胞肥大并因此调节脂肪形态的机制。
