Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors such as obesity remain at the forefront of health concerns. Adipose tissue has been well established as an endocrine organ that becomes dysfunctional with increased adipose tissue mass. The secretion of several adipokines is altered in subjects with abdominal adiposity and these changes to the endocrine balance may contribute to increased CVD risk. The identification and characterization of disease-specific proteins within the adipose tissue offers a novel therapeutic target for prevention or treatment of cardiovascular complications. This review will discuss the latest developments on therapeutic targets within the context of adipokines, such as adiponectin, C1q/ tumor necrosis factor (TNF) related proteins (CTRPs), visfatin, vaspin, chemerin and omentin, and their involvement in obesity-related cardiovascular complications.

Keywords: Obesity, CVD, adipose tissue, adipocyte, adipokines.