ABSTRACT
Adipose tissue constitutes the main site for the storage of energy in the form of fat. This chapter provides an overview of the adipocyte as a secretory organ and describes the genomic and proteomic approaches that have been used for the study of the adipocyte secretome. Proteins secreted by adipocytes are intimately involved in a host of paracrine and autocrine functions, including the regulation of preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. The study of adipocyte secretome is therefore of prime interest for the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies that seek to target diseases such as diabetes and obesity. The chapter discusses some of the novel advances in proteomics that could be employed to dissect the adipocyte secretome in greater detail. Proteomic approaches are necessary to complement the study of the adipocyte secretome. Several different major proteomic approaches have been used for large-scale studies of the adipocyte proteome and secretome.
