The generation of adipocytes by the neural crest

Abstract

Fat cells (adipocytes) develop from adipocyte precursor cells (preadipocytes) that themselves derive from mesenchymal progenitors. Although the events controlling preadipocyte differentiation into mature adipocytes have been largely explored, the mechanisms that direct mesenchymal progenitors down the adipocyte pathway remain unknown. Similarly, although adipocytes are generally thought to derive from mesoderm, key information is lacking regarding the origin and the development of the adipose tissue during embryogenesis. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the ontogeny of fat cells, both in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cell-derived cultures and during normal development. We first used genetically engineered mES cells to produce and select ES cellderived neuroepithelial progenitors and showed that neuroectoderm, rather than mesoderm, may be a source of adipocytes in mES cell-derived cultures. We then used primary and secondary cultures of developing quail neural crest (NC) cells to demonstrate that NC cells are able, upon stimulation with defined factors, to differentiate into adipocytes, thus providing a powerful system to study the earliest stages of adipocyte differentiation. Finally, we mapped NC derivatives in vivo using Cre-mediated recombination in transgenic mice and demonstrated that a subset of adipocytes originates from the NC during normal development.

Functionally Convergent White Adipogenic Progenitors of Different Lineages Participate in a Diffused System Supporting Tissue Regeneration

“…Our data show that NC-derived adipocytes form a well-defined subcutaneous fat depot in the cervical region of adult WNT1-Cre/R26-YFP mice, confirming previous data reporting the presence of NCderived adipocytes surrounding the salivary gland in adult Sox10-Cre/R26-YFP mice [5]. Furthermore, neural-crestderived adipocytes accumulate ectopically during fatty infiltration of craniofacial muscles, accounting for 70% of the adipocytes generated following degenerative damage of the masseter in 5-week-old mice.…”

“…Previous data have indicated a role for the NC in the generation of white adipose tissue (WAT), one of the major mesenchymal lineages [5]. While the mesoderm has long been considered the only source of WAT, certain forms of WAT dystrophies, such as congenital infiltrating lipomatosis of the face (CIL-F) [6,7] and the Dunnigan-Kobberling syndrome [8] suggest the existence of different cellular mechanisms for cephalic versus trunk and limb adipogenesis.…”

Epigenetics and developmental programming of welfare and production traits in farm animals

“…Some neck WAT depots are colonised by neural crest cells (Billon et al 2007), migratory multipotent cells from the dorsal neural tube, but very little is known about the origins and signals that regulate WAT adipocyte formation. As a result, there are also fewer well-established molecular markers of specific developmental stages of adipocyte cell formation available to inform studies of adipose development.…”

A chromatin perspective of adipogenesis

“…However, lineage-tracking studies have shown that at least a subset of adipocytes originates from MSCs derived from the neuroectoderm. 27 Comprehensive lineage-tracking studies are required to clarify this question, but a mixed origin of the different fat deposits would explain their distinctive molecular and biological features. 18,21 An extracellular cue recruits MSCs to commit to a particular lineage (Fig.…”