Figure 2.

Characteristics of hypertrophic and hyperplasic adipocytes. In obesity, adipose tissue expansion occurs by two different mechanisms. Hypertrophic adipose expansion through increased adipocyte size is associated with such harmful phenomena as increased basal fatty acids release, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, immune cell recruitment, hypoxia, fibrosis, decreased adiponectin, and impaired insulin sensitivity. On the other hand, hyperplasic adipose expansion though increased adipocyte number is linked to beneficial phenomena, such as increased adiponectin, decreased basal fatty acids release, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, immune cell recruitment, hypoxia, fibrosis, and improved insulin sensitivity.