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Adipose Tissue Distribution: Visceral vs Subcutaneous
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is the metabolically deleterious fat depot — associated with insulin resistance, ectopic lipid deposition, adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) infiltration, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production (IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1). Subcutaneous a
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- Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is the metabolically deleterious fat depot — associated with insulin resistance, ectopic lipid deposition, adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) infiltration, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production (IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1). Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is relatively metabolically neutral. The VAT:SAT ratio is a key metabolic disease risk metric.
- Myostatin knockout mice and pharmacological myostatin inhibition models consistently show reduced VAT accumulation despite normal or increased total body weight in some models — suggesting myostatin inhibition preferentially depletes metabolically harmful visceral fat. Mechanistically, VAT adipocytes express higher ActRIIB levels than SAT adipocytes, making them more sensitive to myostatin sequestration-driven anti-adipogenic effects. ACE-031 research in DIO (diet-induced obesity, 60% HFD, 12–16 weeks) mice: body composition by EchoMRI (fat mass, lean mass); fat depot dissection (VAT = epididymal WAT + mesenteric WAT + perirenal WAT; SAT = inguinal WAT) with individual depot weights and adipocyte size distribution (H&E morphometry, mean adipocyte diameter); plasma adipokine panel (adiponectin — anti-inflammatory marker; leptin — proportional to fat mass; resistin, chemerin); and euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp for insulin sensitivity (GIR, glucose infusion rate at steady state).