脂肪细胞的发育分化

Adipocyte development

脂肪组织是人体重要的能量贮存器官,同时还是一个重要的内分泌器官。适量的脂肪组织为人体所必需,但过多或过少的脂肪组织都会引起代谢综合征。脂肪细胞起源于血管基质中多潜能干细胞,这类干细胞具有自我更新和多向分化的潜能,在合适的条件下不仅可以分化为脂肪细胞,还可分化为肌肉细胞、软骨细胞和成骨细胞等中胚层来源的细胞。从多潜能干细胞到脂肪细胞的发育阶段可被分为三个阶段:(1)多潜能干细胞;(2)前脂肪细胞;(3)脂肪细胞。目前本领域的研究集中在干细胞定向为前脂肪细胞的机理以及这些定向为前脂肪细胞的干细胞的来源。该文将对从多潜能干细胞发育分化为成熟脂肪细胞的过程进行详细的阐述。

Adipose tissue plays an important role in energy storage, and recent studies indicate that adipose tissue also serves as an important endocrine organ by producing hormones （Adipokine） such as leptin, resistin and the cytokine TNFct. Obesity is accompanied by an increase in the size and number of adipocytes. The rise in adipocyte number is the result of： （i） recruitment of new preadipocytes from the population of mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） in the vascular stroma of adipose tissue, and （ii） ＂mitotic clonal expansion＂ of the preadipocyte population during differentiation. Pluripotent MSCs have the potential to undergo commitment into adipocyte, myocyte, osteocyte, or chondrocyte lineages. The developmental pathway that gives rise to mature adipocytes involves 2 distinct processes： commitment and terminal differentiation. Although the sequential steps of termi- nal adipocyte differentiation have been clearly defined, the steps in the commitment of pluripotent stem cells to the adipocyte lineage have not. In the present review, we give a detail description of adipocyte development according to the work of ours and other groups.