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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

An Adipocyte Cell Culture Model to Study the Impact of Protein and Micro-RNA Modulation on Adipocyte Function
Published on: May 4, 2021
The major inflammatory mediator interleukin-6 and obesity
Katalin Eder1, Noemi Baffy, Andras Falus
1Research Group for Inflammation Biology and Immunogenomics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. ederkati@gmail.com
Abstract:
Adipose tissue is one of the main sources of inflammatory mediators, with interleukin-6 (IL-6) among them. Although high systemic levels of inflammatory mediators are cachectogenic and/or anorexic, today it is a widely propagated thesis that in the background of obesity, a low level of chronic inflammation can be found, with IL-6 being one of the many suggested mediators. This paper reviews the studies describing elevated IL-6 levels in obese patients and the role of adipocytes and adipose-tissue macrophages in the production of IL-6. The secretion of IL-6 is regulated by several physiologic or pathologic factors: hormones, cytokines, diet, physical activity, stress, hypoxia, and others. Adipose tissue-derived IL-6 may have an effect on metabolism through several mechanisms, including adipose tissue-specific gene expression, triglyceride release, lipoprotein lipase downregulation, insulin sensitivity, and so on. Having a better understanding of these mechanisms may contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity.
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