The adipose tissue (AT) is known for energy storage in the form of triglycerides but it is also accepted as an endocrine organ secreting numerous adipokines. These adipokines are involved in processes such as inflammation, metabolism and fertility. In obesity associated with low grade inflammation, the adipokine secretory profile may change leading to deregulation of the AT metabolism and systemic insulin resistance (IR). However, the exact role of the AT in the development of IR is not known. Therefore, our aims were
( 1) to study the role of AT in the development of systemic IR in relation to (A) nutritional overstimulation (glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) signaling ), (B) clinical parameters related to obesity, (C) LPS induced inflammation and (2) to identify biomarkers specific for inflammation/IR in AT.
(A) We found that excess of GIP observed in overnutrition does not serve as a link between obesity and IR. (B) Moreover, we observed that in AT of patients with decreased insulin sensitivity, metabolic genes had decreased expression, while expression of proinflamamtory genes was not altered. This suggests that metabolic alternations in AT might precede inflammation during the development of IR. (C) Additionally, we found that during inflammation both AT and liver display a unique pattern of gene/protein expression, suggesting that the tissue specific proteins could be used as biomarkers to detect tissue specific IR. AT specific biomarker related to inflammation were TNFα, MMP1, and PTX3. The liver specific biomarkers were CXCL9, CXCL3, and follistatin-like 3. Further investigations should explore the possibilities for the development of tissue specific diagnosis of IR and thereby more targeted strategies for its detection.