Endothelial Nuclear Factor κB in Obesity and Aging

I nsulin resistance is a major characteristic of type 2 diabetes mellitus and develops in multiple organs, including skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and heart. 1 Insulin resistance is caused by obesity and therefore establishes an important causal relationship between obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. 2 Insulin resistance also develops in aging, but this process is less well understood. Obesity is a complex physiological state, with alterations in lipid metabolism, dysregulated production of hormones, ectopic accumulation of fat, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chronic low-grade inflammation. All of these abnormalities may independently cause insulin resistance and affect glucose homeostasis, which make insulin resistance equally as complex as obesity itself.