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FDG-PET scans detected metabolic activity differences between visceral, subcutaneous adipose tissue
Christen T. J Am Coll Cardiol Img. 2010;3:843-851.
Gropler R. J Am Coll Cardiol Img. 2010;3:852-853.
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Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET imaging revealed that visceral adipose tissue had increased glucose uptake vs. subcutaneous adipose tissue, according to a study.
Researchers retrospectively analyzed tissue-specific glucose uptake in vivo in clinically obtained, whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET scans in patients obese (n=31) and lean (n=26). The scans were performed for the diagnosis of primary lung cancer staging with respect to the intensity of FDG uptake in abdominal visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Researchers found that visceral adipose tissue had higher FDG uptake vs. subcutaneous adipose tissue (P<.0001), which was independent of age, sex, BMI, medications and comorbidities. They conducted additional research that investigated mechanisms underlying this observation in diet-induced C57BL/6 obese mice and determined that stromal vascular cells from visceral adipose tissue exhibited higher glucose uptake than those from subcutaneous adipose tissue (P=.01). Additionally, evaluation of expression of glucose transporters (GLUT1, GLUT3, and GLUT4) and hexokinases (HK1 and HK2) revealed increased expression of HK1 in visceral adipose tissue-derived vs. subcutaneous adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular cells.
“Visceral adiposity has become a therapeutic target for numerous novel pharmacologic and other strategies aimed at the improvement of dysmetabolism. Although plasma biomarkers provide one window on efficacy, availability of an imaging modality to directly probe the target tissue would help drug development programs evaluate efficacy and perform better dose selection in clinical trials,” the researchers commented in their study.
In an accompanying editorial, Robert J. Gropler, MD, and Linda R. Peterson, MD, both with the cardiovascular division of the department of internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said there are two important contributions of this study’s findings.
“This article moves our understanding beyond the initial findings that 1) not all adipose tissue is alike and 2) adipocytes can make and respond to hormones and cytokines to realizing that adipose tissue is a complex environment composed of varying amounts of many different types of cells including the stromal vascular cell fraction,” they wrote. “[These findings] emphasize the need for the development of molecular imaging approaches that noninvasively target specific cell types and/or biological processes that comprise visceral adipose tissue and contribute to CVD.”
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