Novel adipokines and obesity-related metabolic diseases

Obesity is a chronic low-grade inflammatory disease, which is closely related to the increased risk of metabolic diseases. Adipose tissue has been shown to play an essential role in regulating metabolic balance. Adipose tissue is not only involved in energy storage, but also as a key endocrine organ with secretion of pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory adipokines, participates in the occurrence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, several novel types of cytokines have been found to play important roles in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammation, such as spexin, slit family, adipolin, Wnt1 inducible signaling pathway protein 2, and so on. Key words: Adipose tissue; Adipokines; Obesity; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Energy metabolism