Summary
Obesity is a common disorder, and related diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis,
hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer are a major cause of mortality and
morbidity inWesterntype societies. Development of obesity is associated with extensive
modifications in adipose tissue involving adipogenesis, angiogenesis and extracellular
matrix proteolysis. The fibrinolytic (plasminogen/plasmin) and matrix metalloproteinase
(MMP) systems cooperate in these processes. A nutritionally induced obesity model
in transgenic mice has been used extensively to study the role of the fibrinolytic
and MMP systems in the development of obesity. These studies support a role of both
systems in adipogenesis and obesity, and suggest that modulation of proteolytic activity
may affect development of adipose tissue.
Keywords
Animal models - fibrinolysis inhibitors - gene knock-out - matrix metalloproteinases
- obesity