The regulatory role of adipocyte mitochondrial homeostasis in metabolism-related diseases

Front Physiol. 2023 Oct 18:14:1261204. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1261204. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Adipose tissue is the most important energy storage organ in the body, maintaining its normal energy metabolism function and playing a vital role in keeping the energy balance of the body to avoid the harm caused by obesity and a series of related diseases resulting from abnormal energy metabolism. The dysfunction of adipose tissue is closely related to the occurrence of diseases related to obesity metabolism. Among various organelles, mitochondria are the main site of energy metabolism, and mitochondria maintain their quality through autophagy, biogenesis, transfer, and dynamics, which play an important role in maintaining metabolic homeostasis of adipocytes. On the other hand, mitochondria have mitochondrial genomes which are vulnerable to damage due to the lack of protective structures and their proximity to sites of reactive oxygen species generation, thus affecting mitochondrial function. Notably, mitochondria are closely related to other organelles in adipocytes, such as lipid droplets and the endoplasmic reticulum, which enhances the function of mitochondria and other organelles and regulates energy metabolism processes, thus reducing the occurrence of obesity-related diseases. This article introduces the structure and quality control of mitochondria in adipocytes and their interactions with other organelles in adipocytes, aiming to provide a new perspective on the regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis in adipocytes on the occurrence of obesity-related diseases, and to provide theoretical reference for further revealing the molecular mechanism of mitochondrial homeostasis in adipocytes on the occurrence of obesity-related diseases.

Keywords: adipocyte; adipose tissue; metabolic syndrome; mitochondria; obesity.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This project was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (2023J01446 and 2020J01537); the Fujian Province Young and Middle-Aged Teacher Education Research Project (JAT220059); and Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (KFb22064XA).