Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Parow, South Africa.
Division of Medical Physiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Parow, South Africa.
J Cell Physiol. 2019 Mar;234(3):2399-2425. doi: 10.1002/jcp.27266. Epub 2018 Sep 7.
Globally, the obesity pandemic is profoundly affecting quality of life and economic productivity, but efforts to address this, especially on a pharmacological level, have generally proven unsuccessful to date, serving as a stark demonstration that our understanding of adipocyte biology and pathophysiology is incomplete. To deliver better insight into adipocyte function and obesity, we need improved adipocyte models with a high degree of fidelity in representing the in vivo state and with a diverse range of experimental applications. Adipocyte cell lines, especially 3T3-L1 cells, have been used extensively over many years, but these are limited in terms of relevance and versatility. In this review, I propose that primary adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) present a superior model with which to study adipocyte biology ex vivo. In particular, ASCs afford us the opportunity to study adipocytes from different, functionally distinct, adipose depots and to investigate, by means of in vivo/ex vivo studies, the effects of many different physiological and pathophysiological factors, such as age, body weight, hormonal status, diet and nutraceuticals, as well as disease and pharmacological treatments, on the biology of adipocytes and their precursors. This study will give an overview of the characteristics of ASCs and published studies utilizing ASCs, to highlight the areas where our knowledge is lacking. More comprehensive studies in primary ASCs will contribute to an improved understanding of adipose tissue, in healthy and dysfunctional states, which will enhance our efforts to more successfully manage and treat obesity.
从全球范围来看，肥胖症大流行正在严重影响生活质量和经济生产力，但迄今为止，解决这一问题的努力，特别是在药理学方面，通常都未能成功，这鲜明地表明，我们对脂肪细胞生物学和病理生理学的理解还不完整。为了更深入地了解脂肪细胞的功能和肥胖症，我们需要更好的脂肪细胞模型，这些模型在很大程度上能够真实地反映体内状态，并具有多样化的实验应用。多年来，脂肪细胞系，尤其是 3T3-L1 细胞，已经得到了广泛的应用，但这些细胞在相关性和多功能性方面存在局限性。在这篇综述中，我提出原代脂肪组织来源的基质/干细胞（ASCs）是研究脂肪细胞生物学的理想体外模型。特别是，ASCs 使我们有机会研究来自不同功能不同的脂肪组织的脂肪细胞，并通过体内/体外研究，研究许多不同的生理和病理生理因素，如年龄、体重、激素状态、饮食和营养保健品，以及疾病和药物治疗，对脂肪细胞及其前体细胞生物学的影响。本文将概述 ASCs 的特征和已发表的利用 ASCs 的研究，以突出我们知识不足的领域。更全面地研究原代 ASCs 将有助于更好地理解健康和功能失调状态下的脂肪组织，这将有助于我们更成功地管理和治疗肥胖症。
