Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2011

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Biochemistry Research International

DOI

10.1155/2012/312943

Comments

Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/312943

Date of Submission

August 2014

Abstract

The role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a rapidly emerging field of interest in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases. Recent studies have shown that chronic activation of ER stress is closely linked to dysregulation of lipid metabolism in several metabolically important cells including hepatocytes, macrophages, β-cells, and adipocytes. Adipocytes are one of the major cell types involved in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. Recent advances in dissecting the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism indicate that activation of ER stress plays a central role in regulating adipocyte function. In this paper, we discuss the current understanding of the potential role of ER stress in lipid metabolism in adipocytes. In addition, we touch upon the interaction of ER stress and autophagy as well as inflammation. Inhibition of ER stress has the potential of decreasing the pathology in adipose tissue that is seen with energy overbalance.

Rights

Copyright © 2012 Beth S. Zha and Huiping Zhou. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Is Part Of

VCU Microbiology and Immunology Publications

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