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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2011 May 10;22(8):325–332. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2011.03.007

Figure 3. The JAK/STAT microenvironment in adipose tissue.

Figure 3

Adipose tissue is largely comprised of adipocytes but also contains preadipocytes, endothelial cells, and infiltrating immune cells, including NK cells, T cells, and macrophages. Adipocytes are highly responsive to many hormones and growth factors that utilize the JAK/STAT pathway. The receptors for these ligands are indicated in the diagram. Infiltrating immune cells also produce cytokines which likely act in a paracrine fashion to induce JAK/STAT signaling in adipocytes. Adipocytes also have important endocrine properties and four JAK/STAT activating hormones have been shown to be produced from adipocytes.