Metabolism and secretory function of white adipose tissue: effect of dietary fat

Approximately 40% of the total energy consumed by western populations is represented by lipids, most of them being ingested as triacylglycerols and phospholipids. The focus of this review is to analyze the effect of the type of dietary fat on white adipose tissue metabolism and secretory function, particularly on haptoglobin, TNF-alpha, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and adiponectin secretion. Previous studies have demonstrated that the duration of the exposure to the high-fat feeding, amount of fatty acid present in the diet and the type of fatty acid may or may not have a significant effect on adipose tissue metabolism. However, the long-term or short-term high fat diets, especially rich in saturated fatty acids, probably by activation of toll-like receptors, stimulated the expression of proinflammatory adipokines and inhibited adiponectin expression. Further studies are needed to investigate the cellular mechanisms by which dietary fatty acids affect white adipose tissue metabolism and secretory functions.