A constellation of findings of HO-1 gene therapy in the obese-mice model clearly demonstrates that targeting adipose tissue with HO-1 gene can drastically influence adipocyte phenotype and reprogram visceral adipocytes to healthy beige-like cells that are capable of anti-inflammatory effects, presumably by promoting the adipocyte release of bioactive molecules that, in turn, impact distal organ function beneficial to reversing the course of metabolic diseases; this process still remains to be elucidated. This evidence concerns the gene HMOX1 and metabolic disease.