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Liver-adipose tissue crosstalk: A key player in the pathogenesis of glucolipid metabolic disease

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Abstract

Glucolipid metabolic disease (GLMD), a complex of interrelated disorders in glucose and lipid metabolism, has become one of the leading chronic diseases causing public and clinical problem worldwide. As the metabolism of lipid and glucose is a highly coordinated process under both physiological and diseased conditions, the impairment in the signals corresponding to the metabolism of either lipid or glucose represents the common mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of GLMD. The liver and adipose tissue are the major metabolic organs responsible for energy utilization and storage, respectively. This review article aims to summarize the current advances in the investigation of the functional roles and the underling mechanisms of the interplay between the liver and adipose tissue in the modulation of GLMD development. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and adiponectin represent the two major hormones secreted from the liver and adipose tissues, respectively. FGF21 exerts pleiotropic effects on regulating glucose and lipid homeostasis majorly through inducing the expression and secretion of adiponectin. Therefore, FGF21-adiponectin axis functions as the key mediator for the crosstalk between the liver and adipose tissue to exert the beneficial effects on the maintenance of the homeostasis of energy consumption. The liver- and adipose tissue-derived factors with pleiotropic effects on regulating of lipid and glucose metabolism function as the key mediator for the crosstalk between these two highly active metabolic organs, thereby coordinating the initiation and development of GLMD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Research Center of Metabolic Diseases of Integrated Western and Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    De-wei Ye, Xiang-lu Rong & Jiao Guo

  2. Joint Laboratory between Guangdong and Hong Kong on Metabolic Disease, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    De-wei Ye, Xiang-lu Rong, Ai-min Xu & Jiao Guo

  3. State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    De-wei Ye & Ai-min Xu

Authors
  1. De-wei Ye
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  2. Xiang-lu Rong
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  3. Ai-min Xu
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  4. Jiao Guo
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Correspondence to Ai-min Xu.

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Ye, Dw., Rong, Xl., Xu, Am. et al. Liver-adipose tissue crosstalk: A key player in the pathogenesis of glucolipid metabolic disease. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 23, 410–414 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-017-2810-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-017-2810-4

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