Novel Mediators of Adipose Tissue and Muscle Crosstalk

The crosstalk between adipose tissue and skeletal muscle has gained considerable interest, since this process, specifically in obesity, substantially drives the pathogenesis of muscle insulin resistance. In this review, we discuss novel concepts and targets of this bidirectional organ communication system. This includes adipo-myokines like apelin and FGF21, inflammasomes, autophagy, and microRNAs (miRNAs). Literature analysis shows that the crosstalk between fat and muscle involves both extracellular molecules and intracellular organelles. We conclude that integration of these multiple crosstalk elements into one network will be required to better understand this process.