[초청강연] Communication between adipocytes and immune cells is crucial for whole body energy homeostasis

Communication between adipocytes and immune cells is crucial for whole body energy

homeostasis
Jae Bum Kim

Center for Adipocyte Structure and Function, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, School of

Biological Sciences, Seoul National University

White adipose tissue (WAT) is a central controller of lipid and glucose homeostasis that communicates
locally and with distant tissues. The mass of WAT expands or reduces dynamically in response to nutritional
states. WAT primarily stores excess energy in the form of triglycerides and supplies nutrients to other organs in
energy-deficient condition. Generally, WAT expands by increases in mature adipocyte number (hyperplasia)
and size (hypertrophy). White adipocytes, the major cell type of WAT crosstalk with various cell types in both
local and remote tissues via the secretion of a variety of signaling molecules.
Traditionally, the immune system has been considered central to the elimination of pathogenic
microbes and toxic or allergenic molecules that threaten the normal homeostasis of the host. A more recent
addition to the broad discussion of immunity in health and diseases is the role of the interplay between immune
response and metabolism. In particular, the roles of this interplay in obesity and metabolic diseases have been
suggested by the finding that the immune program is intimately linked to physiological and pathological
changes in WAT. One example is the inappropriately active and/or overactive immune responses in WAT in
obesity and its related metabolic diseases. Along with enhanced WAT expansion, obesity induces both
quantitative and qualitative changes in WAT immunity, which potentiates the dysfunction of adipose tissue as
well as systemic energy homeostasis.
Among the resident immune cells in WAT, invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells are regarded as one
of the key players linking dynamic changes in adipocyte metabolisms to WAT homeostasis. In this presentation,
I will briefly discuss different molecular and cellular factors involved in the control of WAT immunity in
obesity. In particular, we emphasize the roles of the interaction between immune cells and adipocytes in
maintaining WAT homeostasis as well as whole body energy metabolism.