Perspectives on whole body and tissue-specific metabolic flexibility and implications in cardiometabolic diseases.

Abstract

Metabolic flexibility is the body's ability to switch between fuel sources in response to changing supply. This adaptability is crucial for maintaining energy balance and metabolic homeostasis, involving key processes like insulin signaling, organ-specific hormone regulation, and mitochondrial function. Initially thought to be determined by skeletal muscle, metabolic flexibility is now recognized as a systemic process affecting multiple organs, including the brain, liver, heart, and adipose tissue. In cardiometabolic diseases, metabolic inflexibility often occurs early, contributing to disease progression. Insulin resistance, a key factor in metabolic inflexibility, impairs fuel utilization and exacerbates metabolic syndrome. Understanding and addressing metabolic flexibility is critical for early detection and prevention. This review emphasizes the significance of metabolic flexibility in cardiometabolic health, underscoring the importance of endocrine regulation and organ crosstalk. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the mechanisms linking metabolic inflexibility to disease, the need for better clinical assessments, and the relationship with insulin resistance.