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Obesity · Journal article
Adipocyte · July 26, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This paired-tissue observational study demonstrates depot-specific metabolic and molecular differences between visceral and subcutaneous adipocytes in 22 obese surgical patients, with subcutaneous adipose tissue showing greater expandability markers and visceral tissue showing higher glucose uptake and lipolytic responsiveness. The findings are mechanistically interesting but lack a non-obese control group, independent validation, and sufficient sample size to establish clinical relevance or causality.
Observational paired-sample study. 22 patients with obesity undergoing elective Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Intervention: Collection and analysis of paired visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue depots. Compared with: Within-subject comparison of VAT versus SAT; external COL3A1 association analysis via Adipose Tissue Knowledge Portal. n = 22. Not stated.
SAT adipocytes were larger in size and displayed higher basal lipolysis and higher lipolysis-related gene expression than VAT adipocytes Isoprenaline-induced lipolytic responsiveness and basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were higher in VAT than in SAT adipocytes SAT displayed higher levels of extracellular matrix components and higher cellular Caveolin 1 levels than VAT
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These findings suggest that subcutaneous and visceral adipose depots have distinct metabolic properties in obesity, with implications for understanding fat distribution and insulin resistance. However, the small sample size and absence of a lean control group limit conclusions about whether these differences are universal or specific to the obese state.
Small paired-sample observational study characterizing metabolic differences between adipose depots in obesity; provides mechanistic insights but lacks a comparator group and is underpowered for clinical translation.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
These findings suggest that subcutaneous and visceral adipose depots have distinct metabolic properties in obesity, with implications for understanding fat distribution and insulin resistance. However, the small sample size and absence of a lean control group limit conclusions about whether these differences are universal or specific to the obese state.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Factors limiting fat cell expandability remain scarcely explored, and comprehensive functional comparisons of adipose depots in humans are limited. In the present study, we collected visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) paired-samples from 22 patients with obesity undergoing elective Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Whole tissue samples were used to determine adipocyte cell size using a coulter counter and gene expression levels using bulk mRNA sequencing. Isolated adipocytes from the same tissue samples were used to functionally assess glucose uptake using glucose tracer assay, and lipolysis by measuring glycerol release. Western blotting was used to determine Caveolin 1 levels in adipocytes. The relationship between COL3A1 expression and systemic health outcomes was assessed using data from the Adipose Tissue Knowledge Portal. We found that SAT adipocytes were larger in size, displayed higher basal lipolysis and higher lipolysis-related gene expression than VAT adipocytes. Isoprenaline-induced lipolytic responsiveness, as well as basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were higher in VAT than in SAT adipocytes. SAT displayed higher levels of extracellular matrix components associated with cellular flexibility and higher cellular Caveolin 1 levels than VAT. Further, we identified subcutaneous adipose tissue COL3A1 as a potential contributor to insulin resistance in obesity, positively associated with BMI, HOMA-IR and adipocyte size. In summary, our findings underscore distinct metabolic properties of subcutaneous and visceral adipocytes in obesity, with SAT adipose tissue exhibiting characteristics that possibly promote greater cellular expandability.
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