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Review
. 2013 Jun 4;17(6):851-859.
doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2013.05.008.

Immunological goings-on in visceral adipose tissue

Diane Mathis  1
Affiliations
Review

Immunological goings-on in visceral adipose tissue

Diane Mathis. Cell Metab. .

Abstract

Chronic, low-grade inflammation of visceral adipose tissue, and systemically, is a critical link between recent strikingly parallel rises in the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Macrophages have been recognized for some time to be critical participants in obesity-induced inflammation of adipose tissue. Of late, a score of other cell types of the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system have been suggested to play a positive or negative role in adipose tissue infiltrates. This piece reviews the existing data on these new participants; discusses experimental uncertainties, inconsistencies, and complexities; and puts forward a minimalist synthetic scheme.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. “THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS” BY H. BOSCH
An image that springs to mind when attempting to synthesize data on the participants and goings-on in obesity-associated inflammation.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2. IMMUNE CELL PLAYERS IN ORGANISMAL METABOLISM
The outcome of obesity-associated adipose-tissue inflammation reflects a balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory elements of the innate and adaptive immune systems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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