Adipose extracellular matrix

The **adipose extracellular matrix (ECM)** is a complex network of structural proteins (such as collagens I, III, IV, VI, fibronectin, laminin, elastin, proteoglycans) produced and maintained by adipocytes, stromal cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells in adipose tissue[1][3]. The ECM provides essential **structural support, mechanical stability, and elasticity** for adipocytes, serves as a scaffold for cell adhesion, and acts as a local **reservoir of growth factors and cytokines** that regulate adipocyte function, immune cell infiltration, and metabolic signaling[2][3][4]. Remodeling of the adipose ECM is critical during **adipogenesis, tissue expansion, obesity**, and metabolic disease, and excessive ECM deposition (fibrosis) is implicated in obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance[1][2][3]. Research in regenerative medicine uses decellularized ECM biomaterials derived from adipose tissue (such as Acellular Adipose Tissue) to promote tissue repair[6]. The ECM is thus a fundamental feature of adipose tissue biology and pathophysiology but is not itself a canonical therapeutic target.

Other names

Adipose tissue extracellular matrixAdipocyte extracellular matrixAT-ECM

Not applicable as a direct target; drugs that affect ECM (e.g., anti-fibrotic agents, enzymatic digestion during tissue engineering) act on multiple components