Adipose tissue-derived stem cells, in vivo and in vitro models for metabolic diseases.

The primary role of adipose tissue stem cells (ADSCs) is to support the function and homeostasis of adipose tissue in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. However, when ADSCs become dysfunctional in diseases such as obesity and cancer, they become impaired, undergo signalling changes, and their epigenome is altered, which can have a dramatic effect on human health. In more recent years, the therapeutic potential of ADSCs in regenerative medicine, wound healing, and for treating conditions such as cancer and metabolic diseases has been extensively investigated with very promising results. ADSCs have also been used to generate two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cellular and in vivo models to study adipose tissue biology and function as well as intracellular communication. Characterising the biology and function of ADSCs, how it is altered in health and disease, and its therapeutic potential and uses in cellular models is key for designing intervention strategies for complex metabolic diseases and cancer.

Recent developments in adipose tissue-secreted factors and their target organs.

The white adipose tissue's primary roles are to store and mobilise energy, which is very different from the brown adipose tissue's function of using fuel to generate heat and maintain the body temperature. The adipose tissues (ATs), co-ordinately with the other organs, sense energetic demands and inform of their reserves before embarking on energetically demanding physiological functions. It is not surprising that ATs exhibit highly integrated regulatory mechanisms mediated by a diversified secretome, including adipokines, lipokines, metabolites and a repertoire of extracellular miRNAs that contribute to integrating the function of the AT niche and connect the AT through paracrine and endocrine effects with the whole organism. Characterising the adipose secretome, its changes in health and disease, regulation by ageing and gender and their contribution to energy homoeostasis is necessary to optimise its use for personalised strategies to prevent or reverse metabolic diseases.