Deciphering adipose tissue heterogeneity

Abstract

Obesity is an excess accumulation of adipose tissue mass, and, together with its sequelae, in particular type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome, obesity presents a major health crisis. Although obesity is simply caused by increased adipose mass, the heterogeneity of adipose tissue in humans means that the response to increased energy balance is highly complex. Individual subjects with similar phenotypes may respond very differently to the same treatments; therefore, obesity may benefit from a personalized precision medicine approach. The variability in the development of obesity is indeed driven by differences in sex, genetics, and environment, but also by the various types of adipose tissue as well as the different cell types that compose it. By describing the distinct cell populations that reside in different fat depots, we can interpret the complex effect of these various players in the maintenance of wholebody energy homeostasis. To further understand adipose tissue, adipogenic differentiation and the transcriptional program of lipid accumulation must be investigated. As the cell-and depot-specific functions are described, they can be placed in the context of energy excess to understand how the heterogeneity of adipose tissue shapes individual metabolic status and condition.

Increased Expression of the Leptin Gene in Adipose Tissue of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease–The Possible Role of an Abnormal Serum Fatty Acid Profile

“…In our in vitro experiment, we used only one cell line as an adipocyte model. Adipose tissue is a highly heterogeneous organ with cell-and depot-specific functions [35][36][37]. However, we chose 3T3-L1 differentiated adipocytes because they are a well-characterized and widely used cell line in metabolic, molecular, and endocrine studies, including studies on leptin expression levels [38][39][40][41].…”

Cold-Activated Lipid Dynamics in Adipose Tissue Highlights a Role for Cardiolipin in Thermogenic Metabolism

“…Thermogenic adipocytes can also arise in white adipose tissue (WAT) through an inducible process called “browning,” giving rise to brown-like cells, termed beige or brite adipocytes (Lynes and Tseng, 2018; Petrovic et al, 2010; Wu et al, 2012). This thermogenic capacity is mainly conferred by its unique expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in the mitochondria, although UCP1-independent thermogenic mechanisms have recently been described (Kazak et al, 2015).…”

Perivascular adipose tissue: An immune cell metropolis

“…What is common to these different depots is twofold. First, these different types of adipose tissues contain a diverse panel of immune cells, pre‐adipocytes, sympathetic nerves and microvasculature (Lynes & Tseng, 2018). Second, these depots release an array of adipokines that elicit physiological effects throughout the body (Ahima & Flier, 2000).…”