Translational Research Institute, AdventHealth, Orlando, FL
Translational Research Institute, AdventHealth, Orlando, FL.
Diabetes. 2021 Nov;70(11):2457-2467. doi: 10.2337/dbi19-0006.
Adipose tissues are not homogeneous and show site-specific properties. An elusive and understudied adipose tissue depot, most likely due to its limited accessibility, is the intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) depot. Adipose tissue is a pliable organ with the ability to adapt to its physiological context, yet whether that adaptation is harmful or beneficial in the IMAT depot remains to be explored in humans. Potential reasons for IMAT accumulation in humans being deleterious or beneficial include ) sex and related circulating hormone levels, ) race and ethnicity, and ) lifestyle factors (e.g., diet and physical activity level). IMAT quantity per se may not be the driving factor in the etiology of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but rather the quality of the IMAT itself is the true puppeteer. Adipose tissue quality likely influences its secreted factors, which are also likely to influence metabolism of surrounding tissues. The advent of molecular assessments such as transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq), assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATACseq), and DNA methylation at the single-cell and single-nucleus levels, as well as the potential for ultrasound-guided biopsies specifically for IMAT, will permit more sophisticated investigations of human IMAT and dramatically advance our understanding of this enigmatic adipose tissue.
脂肪组织并不是均匀的，具有特定部位的特性。由于其有限的可及性，肌肉间脂肪组织（IMAT）是一种难以捉摸且研究不足的脂肪组织库。脂肪组织是一个柔韧的器官，有能力适应其生理环境，但这种适应在 IMAT 库中对人体是有害还是有益，仍有待进一步研究。IMAT 堆积对人体有害或有益的潜在原因包括：（1）性别和相关循环激素水平；（2）种族和民族；（3）生活方式因素（如饮食和身体活动水平）。IMAT 的数量本身可能不是导致胰岛素抵抗和 2 型糖尿病发生的因素，而是 IMAT 本身的质量才是真正的幕后黑手。脂肪组织的质量可能会影响其分泌的因子，而这些因子也可能会影响周围组织的代谢。随着分子评估技术的出现，如转录组测序（RNAseq）、使用测序的转座酶可及染色质分析（ATACseq）、单细胞和单细胞核水平的 DNA 甲基化，以及针对 IMAT 的超声引导活检的可能性，将能够对人类 IMAT 进行更复杂的研究，并极大地促进我们对这种神秘的脂肪组织的理解。
