ArticlePloS one2014
Pioglitazone treatment reduces adipose tissue inflammation through reduction of mast cell and macrophage number and by improving vascularity.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fat Cell Size: Measurement Methods, Pathophysiological Origins, and Relationships With Metabolic Dysregulations.Endocrine reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Pioglitazone Therapy in Patients With Stroke and Prediabetes: A Post Hoc Analysis of the IRIS Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA neurology · 2019Trial
- From bench to bedside: adipose tissue fibrosis in obesity, anti-diabetic therapies, and bariatric surgery.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Perivascular adipose tissue inflammation in abdominal aortic aneurysm: An underrecognized contributor.Journal of biomedical research · 2025Article
- From omics to AI-mapping the pathogenic pathways in type 2 diabetes.FEBS letters · 2025Review
- Mirabegron treatment reduces myofibroblasts and CXCR2 expression in adipose tissue in obesity.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Adipose tissue macrophages secrete small extracellular vesicles that mediate rosiglitazone-induced insulin sensitization.Nature metabolism · 2024Article
- Adipose tissue macrophages as potential targets for obesity and metabolic diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- From an Apple to a Pear: Moving Fat around for Reversing Insulin Resistance.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Article
- The shades of grey in adipose tissue reprogramming.Bioscience reports · 2022Review
- Review
- Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Cardiac Arrhythmias: Focus on Atrial Fibrillation.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- Identification of adipose tissue-related predictors of the reduction in cardiovascular risk induced by metabolic surgery.The Journal of international medical research · 2021Observational
- PPARγ activation improves the microenvironment of perivascular adipose tissue and attenuates aortic stiffening in obesity.Journal of biomedical science · 2021Article
- The Insulin-Sensitizer Pioglitazone Remodels Adipose Tissue Phospholipids in Humans.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Increased Number of Mast Cells in Epicardial Adipose Tissue of Cardiac Surgery Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.Physiological research · 2020Article
- Effect of α2‑macroglobulin in the early stage of jaw osteoradionecrosis.International journal of oncology · 2020Article
- Crosstalk Between Mast Cells and Adipocytes in Physiologic and Pathologic Conditions.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2020Review
- Evaluation of burst release and sustained release of pioglitazone-loaded fibrous mats on diabetic wound healing: anJournal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
CONTEXT AND
objectiveAdipose tissue in insulin resistant subjects contains inflammatory cells and extracellular matrix components. This study examined adipose pathology of insulin resistant subjects who were treated with pioglitazone or fish oil. DESIGN, SETTING AND
participantsAdipose biopsies were examined from nine insulin resistant subjects before/after treatment with pioglitazone 45 mg/day for 12 weeks and also from 19 subjects who were treated with fish oil (1,860 mg EPA, 1,500 mg DHA daily). These studies were performed in a clinical research center setting.
resultsPioglitazone treatment increased the cross-sectional area of adipocytes by 18% (p = 0.01), and also increased capillary density without affecting larger vessels. Pioglitazone treatment decreased total adipose macrophage number by 26%, with a 56% decrease in M1 macrophages and an increase in M2 macrophages. Mast cells were more abundant in obese versus lean subjects, and were decreased from 24 to 13 cells/mm(2) (p = 0.02) in patients treated with pioglitazone, but not in subjects treated with FO. Although there were no changes in total collagen protein, pioglitazone increased the amount of elastin protein in adipose by 6-fold.
conclusionThe PPARγ agonist pioglitazone increased adipocyte size yet improved other features of adipose, increasing capillary number and reducing mast cells and inflammatory macrophages. The increase in elastin may better permit adipocyte expansion without triggering cell necrosis and an inflammatory reaction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.