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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 17.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2010 Mar 2;6(4):195–213. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2010.20

Figure 1. Adipose tissue in human.

Figure 1

Visceral white adipose tissue is associated with increased risk of several metabolic conditions, diseases, and mortality, whereas subcutaneous and brown fat is associated with improved metabolism. Visceral fat secretes higher levels of the adipokines, resistin and retinol binding protein (RBP) 4, which are associated with insulin resistance, whereas subcutaneous fat secretes higher levels of high molecular (MW) adiponectin which is associated with improved metabolism. The developmental gene T-box 15 is more highly expressed in visceral fat of lean individuals, whereas glypican-4 is more highly expressed in the subcutaneous fat of lean individuals. Gene expression of the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is specific to brown fat. miRNA-145 is more highly expressed in the visceral fat of individuals with type 2 diabetes, whereas several miRNAs in the subcutaneous fat are associated with smaller adipocyte size. Visceral fat has higher levels of inflammatory cells and cytokines. Subcutaneous fat is more responsive to the insulin-sensitizing drugs, such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), than visceral fat.