Nonmuscle Tissues Contribution to Cancer Cachexia

Figure 2

Examples of cross talk between adipose tissue/liver and skeletal muscle during cancer cachexia. Adipose tissue releases some factor(s), possibly fatty acids, that seem to be essential to activate muscle proteolysis. Indeed, recent evidences, using knockout deficient mice, suggest that blocking lipolysis in white fat results in an amelioration of muscle wasting. Similarly, liver acute-phase proteins (APP), such as serum amyloid A (SAA), could participate, alone or in synergy with cytokines, in activating muscle wasting by enhancing protein degradation.