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018 - Adipose tissue as an endocrine organ: the diagnostic role of laboratory in obesity and metabolic syndrome

Autor(s): R. Tozzoli

Issue: RIMeL - IJLaM, Vol. 6, N. 3-S1, 2010 (MAF Servizi srl ed.)

Page(s): 18-23

Worldwide, the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated complications (metabolic syndrome) are likely to pose a serious challenge to the public health and medical care systems. The obesity state is now considered a low-grade systemic inflammation, induced by different mediators called adipocytokines or adipokines, produced by the white visceral adipose tissue. These molecules are hormone-like factors, cytokines and chemokines, inflammatory markers, enzymes and lipid transporters, and are sintetized by different types of cells: adipocytes, pre-adipocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblast and macrophages. The causes and mechanisms involved in obesity-induced inflammatory state are not fully understood. However the adipokines seem to be the link between obesity, inflammation and obesity-related complications. The present article briefly discusses the pathophysiology of adipose tissue in obesity, the functions of adipokines in normal and pathological conditions, and the role of recent multiplex immunoassay systems for the measurement of adipokine concentrations in serum of obese patients. Addressable bead-based multiplex immunoassays share the sandwich conventional ELISA principle, present similar robustness, accuracy and precision, enable the measurement of multiple adipokines in a single sample (adipose tissue profile or adipome) and are a powerful tool for the diagnosis of obesity and associated complications.

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