| Summary: | Adipose tissue is at a point of high interest in medical research, not only as an energy depot, but also because it secretes nearly more than 600 cytokines. These are termed‚ adipokines’. Human adipokines are involved in numerous metabolic processes, including the regulation of appetite, energy expenditure, insulin sensitivity, inflammation and cardiovascular activity. Thus, these could be clinically important as a markers of adipose tissue function and increased metabolic risk. The search for novel adipokines linking obesity to related co-morbidities has become a major topic in obesity research. In such work, there is an increasing need to define their function, their molecular targets and their potential clinical relevance as biomarkers or in the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases.
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