Summary
Obesity—the excessive accumulation of white adipose tissue (WAT), potentially impairing health—affects millions worldwide and is associated with numerous comorbidities such as type II diabetes and fatty liver disease. The main function of WAT is storage of energy in the form of lipids (fat) and its mobilization as needed. Skin sebaceous glands secrete a lipid-rich product (sebum), which has several functions in maintaining skin integrity, including protection against ultraviolet radiation, elimination of harmful microorganisms (antimicrobial activity), and thermoregulation. Thus, although largely unrelated in structure and function, both WAT and sebaceous glands are stereotyped by intensive lipid metabolism. On page 532 of this issue, Choa et al. (1) show that the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) modulates sebum secretion. Furthermore, they show that if sebum production and release consumes sufficient energy, it can cause significant loss of WAT in mice.
