• Paolo Calabrò, Enrica Golia, Valeria Maddaloni, Marco Malvezzi, Beniamino Casillo, Carla Marotta, Raffaele Calabrò, and Paolo Golino.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiothoracic Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. paolo.calabro@unina2.it
• Intern Emerg Med. 2009 Feb 1; 4 (1): 253425-34.

AbstractUntil relatively recently, the role of adipose tissue in the development of obesity and its consequences was considered to be a passive one. Mounting evidence highlights the role of adipose tissue in the development of a systemic inflammatory state that contributes to obesity-associated vasculopathy and cardiovascular risk. It is now clear that, in addition to storing calories as triglycerides, adipocytes secrete a large variety of cytokines, chemokines and hormone-like factors, such as leptin, resistin, and acute-phase proteins. In addition, insulin resistance, both in nondiabetic and diabetic subjects, is frequently associated with obesity, particularly with an excess of intraabdominal fat. This production of pro-atherogenic substances is of particular interest since an increase in the plasma levels of these mediators may provide a novel mechanistic link between obesity and its vascular complications.

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