Visceral adiposopathy: a vascular perspective

Obesity has emerged as one of the most critical health care problems globally that is associated with the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Central adiposity with intra-abdominal deposition of visceral fat, in particular, has been closely linked to cardiometabolic consequences of obesity. Increasing epidemiological, clinical and experimental data suggest that both adipose tissue quantity and perturbations in its quality termed "adiposopathy" contribute to mechanisms of cardiometabolic disease. The current review discusses regional differences in adipose tissue characteristics and highlights profound abnormalities in vascular endothelial function and angiogenesis that are manifest within the visceral adipose tissue milieu of obese individuals. Clinical data demonstrate up-regulation of pro-inflammatory and pro-atherosclerotic mediators in dysfunctional adipose tissue that may support pathological vascular changes not only locally in fat but also in multiple organ systems, including coronary and peripheral circulations, potentially contributing to mechanisms of obesity-related cardiovascular disease.