Is epiploic fat the dermal fat of the intestine?

White adipose tissue is the primary site of energy storage to maintain metabolic function of the organism at times of starvation. Moreover, a multitude of hormones, cytokines and other bioactive molecules secreted from adipose tissue regulate key aspects of systemic metabolism.1 2 In mammals adipose is organised in multiple depots throughout the body differing in size, developmental origin and function.1 2 These depots are divided into subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues. Although individual depots within these categories differ between species, for example, humans and mice, excessive accumulation of fat in visceral adipose associates with impaired insulin sensitivity and the development of the metabolic syndrome, whereas increase in subcutaneous adipose mass does not show this association.1 3 Given the central role of adipose tissue in the regulation of systemic lipid and glucose homoeostasis and the ever-increasing details known on cellular composition and function of adipocytes within the large adipose depots, it is surprising that some adipose tissues remain barely studied. In GUT , Krieg and colleagues perform a detailed multi-omics comparison and characterisation of human epiploic fat with subcutaneous, omental and mesenteric fat of insulin sensitive and insulin resistant subjects. Epiploic fat is part of visceral adipose tissue located along the colon …