Visceral adipose tissue contributes to insulin resistance and metabolic diseases, though variability across 7 reviewed studies prevents conclusive identification of significant biomarkers.
Systematic Review (n=7)
Visceral adipose tissue exhibits structural and molecular modifications contributing to insulin resistance and T2DM, but standardized methods are needed to identify reliable diagnostic biomarkers.
Abstract Adipose tissue dysfunction is more related to obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) plays a significant role in development of obesity and its associated metabolic disorders. The present study was aimed to evaluate the structural and molecular modifications in VAT in obese and T2DM subjects using histomorphometric and molecular analyses. Data extraction was done with publicly accessible English databases, such as PubMed and Google Scholar, which were searched from the years 2009 and 2024. A total of 103 studies were mined, and seven articles were chosen for the review. The review examined the hypertrophy of VAT, its fibrosis, gene expression levels, and the correlations with inflammation, IR, and T2DM. There is strong evidence that VAT contributes to resistance to insulin and metabolic diseases. Nonetheless, the variability in sample types, experimental methods, analytical tools, and the genes examined across the studies leads to an inconclusive comparison regarding the identification of significant biomarkers that warrant further investigation for diagnostic purposes and the development of targeted therapies Supplementary Figure.
Kulkarni et al. (2026) conducted a systematic review in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity (n=7). Histomorphometric and molecular characterization of visceral adipose tissue was evaluated on Hypertrophy of VAT, fibrosis, gene expression levels, and correlations with inflammation, IR, and T2DM. Visceral adipose tissue contributes to insulin resistance and metabolic diseases, though variability across 7 reviewed studies prevents conclusive identification of significant biomarkers.