Figure 2.

Schematic depicting adipose tissue homeostasis and its response in obesity. Under normal/lean conditions, immune cells and adipocytes work in cooperation to develop a tolerogenic milieu to maintain tissue homeostasis. In response to obesity‐induced chronic inflammation, immune cells including dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages are recruited to adipose tissue, promoting a pro‐inflammatory response. Dotted black arrows indicate possible transcriptional and systemic regulation of DC, which may result in anti‐ or pro‐inflammatory responses. HIF‐1α, hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α; KLF4, Kruppel‐like factor 4; IL‐4, interleukin‐4; PPARγ, peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ; TGF‐β, transforming growth factor‐β; TNF‐α, tumour necrosis factor‐α.