Adipocinas: aspectos bioquímicos na obesidade

Abstract

The obesity is defined as the accumulation of body fat and is derived from a chronic imbalance between energy expenditure and energy acquired. This imbalance may be implicated in several factors related to lifestyle (diet and exercise), neuroendocrine changes, along with a hereditary component. Currently, adipose tissue is a major focus of research in obesity, due to a better understanding of the biological function of this tissue since the last decade. It is already clear that adipose tissue secretes multiple bioactive peptides called adipokines. Thus, the objective of this review was to investigate the relationship between obesity and adipokines. The results showed that the obesity is associated to chronic inflammation. Increased concentrations of these adipokines promote great impact on various body functions that are highly correlated with diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension and cancer. The increasing prevalence of obesity in most countries in recent years seems to indicate that there is a genetic predisposition or susceptibility to obesity, which is related to environmental factors regarding lifestyles. Thus, the knowledgement of the biochemistry mechanism in obesity will allow to find effective regulation for the balance between adipogenesis and adipocyte death mechanisms, and therefore the obesity