Adipokines at the crossroads of obesity and mesenchymal stem cell therapy

• Published in: Experimental & molecular medicine Vol. 55; no. 2; pp. 313 - 324
• Main Authors: Pham, Duc-Vinh, Nguyen, Thi-Kem, Park, Pil-Hoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group; 생화학분자생물학회
• Subjects: 13/100; 631/532; 631/80; Adipokines - metabolism; Adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Body fat; Cell self-renewal; Cell therapy; Comorbidity; Humans; Medical Biochemistry; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - metabolism; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - metabolism; Microenvironments; Molecular Medicine; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - therapy; Review; Review Article; Stem cell transplantation; Stem Cells; 생화학
• ISSN: 2092-6413; 1226-3613; 2092-6413
• DOI: 10.1038/s12276-023-00940-2

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is an emerging treatment strategy to counteract metabolic syndromes, including obesity and its comorbid disorders. However, its effectiveness is challenged by various factors in the obese environment that negatively impact MSC survival and function. The identification of these detrimental factors will provide opportunities to optimize MSC therapy for the treatment of obesity and its comorbidities. Dysregulated production of adipokines, a group of cytokines and hormones derived from adipose tissue, has been postulated to play a pivotal role in the development of obesity-associated complications. Intriguingly, adipokines have also been implicated in the modulation of viability, self-renewal, proliferation, and other properties of MSC. However, the involvement of adipokine imbalance in impaired MSC functionality has not been completely understood. On the other hand, treatment of obese individuals with MSC can restore the serum adipokine profile, suggesting the bidirectionality of the adipokine–MSC relationship. In this review, we aim to discuss the current knowledge on the central role of adipokines in the crosstalk between obesity and MSC dysfunction. We also summarize recent advances in the use of MSC for the treatment of obesity-associated diseases to support the hypothesis that adipokines modulate the benefits of MSC therapy in obese patients. Metabolic disorders: Stem cell therapy in obesity Adjusting the activity of a group of molecules derived from body fat might improve treatment success for mesenchymal (adult) stem cell (MSC) therapy in metabolic disorders. MSC therapy shows promise for treating obesity and other metabolic conditions, however the obese microenvironment can impair MSC potency, function, and survival. To help clarify why this happens, Pil-Hoon Park and co-workers at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, Korea, reviewed current understanding of adipokines, a group of signaling molecules and hormones derived from body fat tissues, and their role in the interaction between obesity and MSC dysfunction. MSCs taken from obese subjects tend to show disrupted function, including slower proliferation and lower capacity for invasion. This appears to be linked to dysregulated adipokine secretion, triggering abnormal behavior in both resident and transplanted MSCs.