ABSTRACT
Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Adipose Tissue and Metabolic Health,
organized by Drs. Jacqueline M. Stephens and Antonio J. Vidal-Puig. The conference will be held in Keystone,
Colorado from February 6-9, 2022.
Like the Obesity and Type 2 epidemics, our understanding of adipocytes and adipose tissue biology continues
to expand. Substantial research advances have led to new insights into the contributions of adipose tissue to
normal physiology and obesity-related complications, which places adipocyte biology at the epicenter of a
global pandemic of metabolic diseases. This Keystone Symposia conference will consider the locations and
functions of different adipose tissue depots, as well as recent studies that use stable isotopies to provide
insight into how formation and turnover of adipocytes contributes to metabolic disease. The secretory
capacities of adipose tissue will be covered in several different sessions including Influences of Adipose Tissue
Immune Cells and New Adipose Tissue Products-Exosomes and Lipid Containing Vesicle. Arguably one of the
most significant discoveries in the last two decades of adipocyte research, is that adipocytes not only release
endocrine hormones, but fat cells and adipose tissue secrete a variety of effectors, including exosomes,
miRNA, lipids, inflammatory cytokines, and peptide hormones that act in both paracrine and endocrine
capacities to impact local and systemic metabolic responses. Hence, talks on inflammation, metabolically
healthy fat, and adipose tissue expansion are also covered in this program. In addition, this conference will
also include a session on alternate models (flies, fish, and worms) that are currently used to study adipose
tissue and metabolic diseases. Overall, the program for this conference will be highly informative to research
scientists in academia and industry who have an interest in the contribution of adipose tissue to metabolic
disease states.