Perirenal Adipose Tissue in Cardiovascular Disease: From Molecular Insights to Therapeutic Perspectives

Perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) has emerged as a clinically relevant endocrine organ connecting obesity to cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease, and certain malignancies. Its unique anatomical location, surrounding the kidneys, accounts for PRAT’s role in altering intrarenal haemodynamics and hydrostatic pressure. Accordingly, PRAT’s expansion is associated with the activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), further increasing blood pressure. Adipokine dysregulation, together with overexpression of miR-24-3p, miR-155, miR-146a, and miR-21 in PRAT, modulates inflammation and oxidative stress, leading to endothelial dysfunction and increased risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension in obesity. Imaging assessment of PRAT thickness through computed tomography, magnetic resonance, or ultrasound has also emerged as a complementary measure for the evaluation of CVD risk. Potential therapeutic strategies targeting PRAT include lifestyle interventions, antidiabetic agents, RAAS inhibitors, adipose tissue browning agents, NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists, and surgery. Currently, novel therapeutic interventions targeting PRAT activity in CVD, such as senotherapeutic strategies, bioengineering approaches aimed at enhancing adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) function, gut microbiota modulation, and colchicine and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) administration, are also being explored. In light of these findings, PRAT’s clinical relevance extends beyond its energy storage role, highlighting it as a metabolically active fat depot. Its assessment and therapeutic modulation may complement existing cardiovascular prevention strategies, particularly in patients with obesity.