Adipokines oversecreted by omental adipose tissue in human obesity

1 Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit, 2 Pathology Unit, 3 Surgery Unit, and 4 Biomedical Statistics Unit, University of Louvain, Faculty of Medicine, Brussels, Belgium Submitted 26 February 2007 ; accepted in final form 13 June 2007 Central-omental obesity plays a causative role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. Adipokines are involved in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. However, adipokines secreted by omental adipose tissue (OAT) are still poorly characterized in human obesity. Therefore, we searched for novel adipokines abnormally secreted by OAT in obesity and examined their relationships with some features of metabolic syndrome and the respective contribution of adipocytes vs. stromal-vascular cells. OAT from obese and nonobese men was fractionated into adipocytes and SV cells, which were then cultured. Medium was screened by medium-scale protein arrays and ELISAs. Adipokine mRNA levels were measured by real-time RT-qPCR. We detected 16 cytokines secreted by each cellular fraction of lean and obese subjects. Of the 16 cytokines, six adipokines were newly identified as secretory products of OAT, which were dysregulated in obesity: three chemokines (growth-related oncogen factor, RANTES, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 ), one interleukin (IL-7), one tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1), and one growth factor (thrombopoietin). Their secretion and expression were enhanced in obesity, with a relatively similar contribution of the two fractions. The higher proportion of macrophages and endothelial cells in obesity may contribute to this enhanced production as well as changes in intrinsic properties of hypertrophied adipocytes. Accordingly, mRNA concentrations of most of these adipokines increased during adipocyte differentiation. Eventually, expression of the investigated adipokines did correlate with several features of the metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, six adipokines were newly identified as oversecreted by OAT in obesity. These adipokines may link obesity to its cardiovascular or metabolic comorbidities. obesity; adipocytes; stromal-vascular cells; inflammation; metabolic syndrome Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: S. M. Brichard, Unité d'Endocrinologie et Métabolisme, UCL/ENDO 5530 - Av. Hippocrate, 55, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium (e-mail: brichard{at}endo.ucl.ac.be )