OnDemand: February 2025 Grand Rounds - Adipocyte Biology in Health and Disease-Adipocyte Biology in Health and Disease

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Jacqueline Stephens gave an overview of adipocyte biology, emphasizing that both too much and too little fat can be harmful, but that adipose tissue “quality” may matter more than quantity. She explained that fat tissue is an energy reservoir, endocrine organ, insulator, and key regulator of systemic metabolic health.<br /><br />She highlighted the complexity of adipose tissue, noting that it contains many cell types beyond adipocytes, including immune and endothelial cells, and that healthy versus unhealthy fat differs in adipogenesis, inflammation, mitochondrial function, and lipid storage. She reviewed classic and newer mouse models of obesity and lipodystrophy, showing that some mice with very little fat are metabolically unhealthy, while some very obese models can remain metabolically healthy.<br /><br />Her lab studies pathways that uncouple fat mass from metabolic health, including STAT5 and Cat8 in adipocytes. She also discussed emerging ideas in the field: adipose tissue may have “memory” of prior obesity or weight loss, adipocytes may participate in GLP-1/GIP drug responses, and lipolysis may occur through additional pathways such as lysosomal mechanisms.<br /><br />In Q&A, she discussed concerns about the Lancet obesity definition, depot-specific differences in fat, extracellular matrix roles, exercise-induced remodeling of adipose tissue, and the possibility of adipocyte memory in underweight states.

Keywords

adipocyte biology

adipose tissue

metabolic health

obesity

lipodystrophy

adipogenesis

inflammation

STAT5

lipolysis