Association of adipose tissue blood flow with fat depot sizes and adipokines in women
Andersson J., Karpe F., Sjöström LG., Riklund K., Söderberg S., Olsson T.
Objective: To explore possible associations between adipose tissue (AT) blood flow (ATBF), AT depot sizes and adipocyte-derived hormones (adipokines) in women.Subjects:In all, 43 healthy women were divided into four groups: normal-weight (n11) and obese (n11) pre-menopausal women and normal-weight (n10) and obese (n11) post-menopausal women.Methods:Fasting levels of adipokines were obtained, and a single-slice computed tomography scan at the level of L4-L5 was used to estimate fat depot sizes. ATBF was assessed by xenon washout while in a fasting state and after oral glucose load. We also measured glucose, insulin and non-esterified fatty acids. Results: Total, subcutaneous and visceral AT areas strongly correlated with ATBF (all P<0.001). Circulating leptin levels strongly and inversely correlated with ATBF (P<0.001), but this association did not remain after adjustment for body mass index. Adiponectin was not associated with blood flow.Conclusion:ATBF is closely linked to subcutaneous and visceral AT size. Further analyses are needed to determine possible mediators of this association, including mechanistic studies to assess a putative role for leptin as a significant modulator of blood flow. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved.