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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Measuring the Rate of Lipolysis in Ex Vivo Murine Adipose Tissue and Primary Preadipocytes Differentiated In Vitro
Published on: March 17, 2023
Adiponectin expression and adipose tissue lipolytic activity in lean and obese women
Mónica Bulló1, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Pilar García-Lorda
1Unitat de Nutrició Humana, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut de Reus, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
Background:
The authors evaluated whether adipose adiponectin expression is related to adipose tissue lipolytic activity and fatty acid oxidation rate in lean and obese women.
Methods:
The study consisted of 60 adult females distributed in a wide range of adiposity (BMI 24.0-53.4 kg/m2). Body composition was estimated by bioelectrical impedance. Respiratory quotient was measured by open-circuit indirect calorimetry. RT-PCR assays were performed to measure TNFalpha and adiponectin expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies. Lipolysis studies were performed in fresh tissue samples obtained from subcutaneous abdominal depots during bariatric surgery in 19 morbidly obese females or by an incisional biopsy or during abdominal elective surgery in normal weight and obese females. Glycerol release was measured with a colorimetric endpoint method.
Results:
Patients with a higher degree of adiposity showed lower adipose tissue adiponectin expression and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) activity than women in the low range of adiposity. HSL activity was positively related to adiponectin expression. No relationship was observed between adiponectin and TNFalpha subcutaneous adipose tissue expression. The positive relationship between respiratory quotient and adiponectin expression was in the limit of statistical significance (P=0.05). Percentage of body fat and mRNA adiponectin explained 26% of the variance of the adipose tissue HSL activity.
Conclusions:
Low adipose tissue adiponectin expression observed in obese people may contribute to the progression of obesity and its co-morbidities by modulating hormone-sensitive lipase activity and fatty acid oxidation.
