Adipose tissue (AT) with a central role in body weight homeostasis,
inflammation and insulin resistance, is a highly orchestrated tissue involving receptor
and second messenger pathways with steps and passes that influence hyperplasia,
hypertrophy, adipocyte differentiation, turnover, lipolysis, free-fatty acid (FFA)
metabolism, lipogenesis and the secretome profile. Due to the limitations of the
classical molecular biological methods only pieces of the puzzle have been studied,
with studies failing to consider the global, time-resolved changes that are evident in
this highly plastic organ. “Proteomics”, first coined in 1995 is a large-scale
characterization of the entire protein profile of a cell line, tissue, or organism not only
from the perspective of expression but also post-translational modifications. As such
proteomic technologies offer powerful tools for identifying key components of the
adipose proteome, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of adipose tissue
dysfunction in obesity. In this review, we plan to address the recent advances in the
proteomic characterization of pediatric obesity, in particular the newly identified
proteins that potentially play relevant roles and offer targets for novel therapies.
Keywords: Adipose tissue, Biomarkers, Circulation, Lifestyle, Obesity, Pediatric,
Proteomic, Secretome, Therapy.
