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Updated: Aug 26, 2025

The Isolation and Culture of Primary Epicardial Cells Derived from Human Adult and Fetal Heart Specimens
Published on: April 24, 2018
Cellular cross talk between epicardial fat and cardiovascular risk
1University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas, USA.
Abstract:
A variety of fat compartments have several local and systemic effect and play a crucial role in the maintenance of health and development of disease. For the past few years, special attention has been paid to epicardial fat. It is the visceral fat compartment of the heart and has several local and systemic effects. It can perform a role in the development of cardiometabolic risk. The epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a unique and multifunctional fat compartment of the heart. It is located between the myocardium and the visceral pericardium. During normal physiological conditions, the EAT has metabolic, thermogenic, and mechanical (cardioprotective) characteristics. The EAT can produce several adipocytokines and chemokines depending on microenvironments. It can influence through paracrine and vasocrine mechanism and participate in the development and progression of cardiovascular (CVS) diseases. In addition, metabolic disease leads to changes in both thickness and volume of the EAT, and it can modify the structure and the function of heart. It has been associated with various CVS diseases such as, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, and coronary artery disease. Therefore, EAT is a potential therapeutic target for CVS risk.
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