Towards precision medicine: defining and characterizing adipose tissue dysfunction to identify early immunometabolic risk in symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study

ABSTRACT

Interactions between macrophages and adipocytes are early molecular factors influencing adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction, resulting in high leptin, low adiponectin circulating levels and low-grade metaflammation, leading to insulin resistance (IR) with increased cardiovascular risk. We report the characterization of AT dysfunction through measurements of the adiponectin/leptin ratio (ALR), the adipo-insulin resistance index (Adipo-IRi), fasting/postprandial (F/P) immunometabolic phenotyping and direct F/P differential gene expression in AT biopsies obtained from symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study. AT dysfunction was evaluated through associations of the ALR with F/P insulin-glucose axis, lipid-lipoprotein metabolism, and inflammatory markers. A relevant pattern of negative associations between decreased ALR and markers of systemic low-grade metaflammation, HOMA, and postprandial cardiovascular risk hyperinsulinemic, triglyceride and GLP-1 curves was found. We also analysed their plasma non-coding microRNAs and shotgun lipidomics profiles finding trends that may reflect a pattern of adipose tissue dysfunction in the fed and fasted state. Direct gene differential expression data showed initial patterns of AT molecular signatures of key immunometabolic genes involved in AT expansion, angiogenic remodelling and immune cell migration. These data reinforce the central, early role of AT dysfunction at the molecular and systemic level in the pathogenesis of IR and immunometabolic disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Adipose tissue dysfunction
• immunometabolism
• postprandial tissue biopsies
• non-coding microRNAs
• shotgun lipidomics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R56DK114703-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.