Abstract
Studies of adipose tissue biology have demonstrated that adipose tissue should be considered as both passive, energy-storing tissue and an endocrine organ because of the secretion of adipose-specific factors, called adipokines. Adiponectin is a well-described homeostatic adipokine with metabolic properties. It regulates whole-body energy status through the induction of fatty acid oxidation and glucose uptake. Adiponectin also has anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties, making it an interesting subject of biomedical studies. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is a fat depot that is conterminous to the vascular wall and acts on it in a paracrine manner through adipokine secretion. PVAT-derived adiponectin can act on the vascular wall through endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. The present review describes adiponectin’s structure, receptors, and main signaling pathways. We further discuss recent studies of the extent and nature of crosstalk between PVAT-derived adiponectin and endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and atherosclerotic plaques. Furthermore, we argue whether adiponectin and its receptors may be considered putative therapeutic targets.
Highlights
The growing obesity epidemic, especially in Western countries, has prompted the need to discover novel therapeutic strategies for various conditions that are related to obesity, such as cardiovascular disease, which is the most prevalent cause of mortality and morbidity in developed countries [1]
Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) weakly associates with APPL1 when not bound to AdipoR (Figure 2A)
In response to adiponectin or insulin stimulation, protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylates APPL1 at Ser407, driving the APPL1/insulin receptor substrate 1/2 (IRS1/2)/Akt complex to translocate toward the plasma membrane and bind to the insulin receptor (IR) (Figure 3A)
Summary
The growing obesity epidemic, especially in Western countries, has prompted the need to discover novel therapeutic strategies for various conditions that are related to obesity, such as cardiovascular disease, which is the most prevalent cause of mortality and morbidity in developed countries [1]. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is a interesting fat depot because of its anatomical location. It surrounds most blood vessels except the cerebral vasculature, suggesting a possible connection with vascular homeostasis. One of the most abundant adipokines, adiponectin, is especially interesting when considering its unique structure [5] and pleiotropic actions on numerous cellular processes, such as lipid and glucose metabolism [6,7,8], insulin signal transduction [9], and inflammation [10]. The present review discusses recent advances in the research area of adiponectin signaling in PVAT and its influence on the vascular wall
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