The role of adipocyte-specific lipid-binding protein during the development of obesity

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The worldwide epidemic of obesity is a serious threat to public health, in part because the increase in the mass of white adipose tissue(WAT) in obese individuals increases the risk for development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. The available treatments for obesity have not stopped its increasing prevalence, suggesting that new therapies, as an adjunct to dietary restriction and exercise, are necessary to curtail the epidemic. The expansion of WAT during the development of obesity can occur through an increase in cell number or in cell size. We now show that the expression of adipocyte-specific lipid-binding protein(ALBP) which identified from microarray analysis increase in WAT during the development of obesity. Furthermore, the deletion of ALBP in obese mice reduced WAT mass and ameliorated insulin resistance associated with obesity. We therefore propose that ALBP is a potential target for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.