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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Isolation and Culturing of Primary Murine Adipocytes from Lean and Obese Mice
Published on: January 24, 2025
The Endocrine Adipose Organ: A System Playing a Central Role in COVID-19
Francesca Cinti1,2, Saverio Cinti3
1UOS Centro Malattie Endocrine e Metaboliche, UOC Endocrinologia e Diabetologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Roma, Italy.
Abstract:
In the last 30 years the adipose cell has been object of several studies, turning its reputation from an inert cell into the main character involved in the pathophysiology of multiple diseases, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the clinical scenario of the last two years. Composed by two types of tissue (white and brown), with opposite roles, the adipose organ is now classified as a real endocrine organ whose dysfunction is involved in different diseases, mainly obesity and type 2 diabetes. In this mini-review we aim to retrace the adipose organ history from physiology to physiopathology, to provide therapeutic perspectives for the prevention and treatment of its two main related diseases (obesity and type 2 diabetes) and to summarize the most recent discoveries linking adipose tissue to COVID-19.
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