Research

Hormonal

Macrophage-secreted factors induce a profibrotic phenotype in human preadipocytes, characterized by increased proliferation, migration, and synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins like fibronectin and collagen I.

Chronic obesity creates an inflammatory environment in fat tissue where immune cells signal fat precursor cells to become fibrotic and proliferative. This biological change makes fat tissue more resistant to change. Addressing obesity may require strategies that reduce inflammation, not just caloric restriction.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We show here that proinflammatory microenvironments are capable of inducing a considerable synthesis of several ECM proteins by human preadipocytes and are associated with their increased proliferation and migration.
Mayoura Kéophiphath et al. · Molecular Endocrinology · 2008

Why this rating

Strong in vitro mechanistic evidence with human primary cells and supporting in vivo immunostaining data from obese individuals.

Source

Macrophage-Secreted Factors Promote a Profibrotic Phenotype in Human Preadipocytes

Mayoura Kéophiphath et al. · Molecular Endocrinology · 2008

DOI 10.1210/me.2008-0183

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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