Adipose Tissue Remodeling and its Effect on Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Individuals: A Critical Review

The objective of this literature review was to investigate adipose tissue remodeling that takes place in obesity and its effect on insulin sensitivity. The majority of relevant articles published and reviewed references. Lists in these articles were searched using Medline, Ovid, and Pro Quest bibliographic database. Adipose tissue (AT) acts as an endocrine organ by expressing and secreting a variety of bioactive adipokines. Defect in the secretory function of most obese AT has been implicated in several metabolic consequences such as insulin resistance (IR). For example, the released pro-inflammatory cytokines and fatty acids have been showed to activate N-terminal kinase, and inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B kinase enzymes, which once activated, both enzymes can lead to IR either directly or indirectly. Adipose tissue remodeling that takes place in obesity leads to imbalance between proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, which has been implicated in IR seen in obese individuals.