Project description:Macrophages from visceral and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (vWAT and sWAT, respectively) can have opposing roles in the systemic metabolic changes associated with obesity. We evaluated the gene expression in CD11b positive macrophage cells from vWAT and sWAT and in the whole adipose depots.
Project description:Visceral adiposity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19, and a link between adipose tissue infection and disease progression has been proposed. Here we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 infects human adipose tissue and undergoes productive infection in human primary adipose-derived stromal-vascular cells differentiated into adipocytes. However, the permissiveness to infection and the cellular response depends on the anatomical origin of the cells and the viral lineage. Cells of visceral adipose tissue origin express more ACE2 and are more permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection than their subcutaneous counterpart. SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to inhibition of lipolysis in cells of subcutaneous origin, while in visceral fat cells, it results in higher expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Viral load and cellular response are attenuated when visceral adipose tissue cells are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 gamma variant. A similar degree of cell death occurs 4-days after SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of the cell origin or viral lineage. Hence, SARS-CoV-2 infects human adipose tissue cells, replicating and altering cell function and viability in a fat depot- and viral lineage-dependent fashion.
Project description:White adipose tissue (WAT) harbors functionally diverse subpopulations of adipose progenitor cells that differentially impact tissue plasticity in a sex- and depot-dependent manner. To date, the molecular basis of this cellular heterogeneity has not been fully defined. Here, we describe a multilayered omics approach to dissect adipose progenitor cell heterogeneity from in three dimensions: progenitor subpopulation, sex, and anatomical localization. We applied state-of-the-art mass spectrometry methods to quantify 4870 proteins in eight different stromal cell populations from perigonadal and inguinal WAT of male and female mice and acquired transcript expression levels of 15477 genes using RNA-seq. Notably, our data highlight the molecular signatures defining sex differences in PDGFR+ preadipocyte differentiation and identify regulatory pathways that functionally distinguish adipose tissue PDGFRb+ subpopulations. The data are freely accessible as a resource at "Pread Profiler. Together, the multilayered omics analysis provides unprecedented insights into adipose stromal cell heterogeneity.
Project description:Case story. A patient with massive infiltration of the visceral adipose tissue depot by BAT in a patient with a catecholamine secreting paraganglioma. BAT tissue was identified by protein expression of UCP1 (western blotting and immunostaining) The goal of the study is to identify patterns of gene expression in BAT containing visceral fat compared to the patient's own subcutanous fat which did not express BAT. For comparison a pool of mRNA isolated from visceral fat from obese subjects was used. Patient Case, Gene expression array from a biopsy from the patient's visceral fat and a biopsy from the subcutaneous fat compared to one array of mRNA from the visceral depot pooled from a group of obese subjects
Project description:White adipose tissue (WAT) harbors functionally diverse subpopulations of adipose progenitor cells that differentially impact tissue plasticity in a sex- and depot-dependent manner. To date, the molecular basis of this cellular heterogeneity has not been fully defined. Here, we describe a multilayered omics approach to dissect adipose progenitor cell heterogeneity in three dimensions: progenitor subpopulation, sex, and anatomical localization. We applied state-of-the-art mass spectrometry methods to quantify 4870 proteins in eight different stromal cell populations from perigonadal and inguinal WAT of male and female mice and acquired transcript expression levels of 15477 genes using RNA-seq. Notably, our data highlight the molecular signatures defining sex differences in PDGFRb+ preadipocyte differentiation and identify regulatory pathways that functionally distinguish adipose tissue PDGFRb+ subpopulations. Together, the multilayered omics analysis provides unprecedented insights into adipose stromal cell heterogeneity.
Project description:Case story. A patient with massive infiltration of the visceral adipose tissue depot by BAT in a patient with a catecholamine secreting paraganglioma. BAT tissue was identified by protein expression of UCP1 (western blotting and immunostaining) The goal of the study is to identify patterns of gene expression in BAT containing visceral fat compared to the patient's own subcutanous fat which did not express BAT. For comparison a pool of mRNA isolated from visceral fat from obese subjects was used.
Project description:In humans, adipose tissue is distributed in subcutaneous abdominal and subcutaneous gluteal depots that comprise a variety of functional differences. Whereas energy storage in gluteal adipose tissue has been shown to mediate a protective effect, an increase of abdominal adipose tissue is associated with metabolic disorders. However, the molecular basis of depot-specific characteristics is not completely understood yet. Using array-based analyses of transcription profiles, we identified a specific set of genes that was differentially expressed between subcutaneous abdominal and gluteal adipose tissue. To investigate the role of epigenetic regulation in depot-specific gene expression, we additionally analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in abdominal and gluteal depots. By combining both data sets, we identified a highly significant set of depot-specifically expressed genes that appear to be epigenetically regulated. Interestingly, the majority of these genes form part of the homeobox gene family. Moreover, genes involved in fatty acid metabolism were also differentially expressed. Therefore we suppose that changes in gene expression profiles might account for depot-specific differences in lipid composition. Indeed, triglycerides and fatty acids of abdominal adipose tissue were more saturated compared to triglycerides and fatty acids in gluteal adipose tissue. Taken together, our results uncover clear differences between abdominal and gluteal adipose tissue on the gene expression and DNA methylation level as well as in fatty acid composition. Therefore, a detailed molecular characterization of adipose tissue depots will be essential to develop new treatment strategies for metabolic syndrome associated complications. DNA methylation profiles of abdominal adipose tissue (6 samples) and gluteal adipose tissue (6 samples) were generated using Infinium methylation 450K BeadChips from Illumina (Illumina, San Diego, USA).
Project description:Single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq), an alternative to single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), encounters technical challenges in obtaining high-quality nuclei and RNA, persistently hindering its applications. Here, we present a robust technique for isolating nuclei across various tissue types, remarkably enhancing snRNA-seq data quality. Employing this approach, we comprehensively characterize the depot-dependent cellular dynamics of various cell types underlying adipose tissue remodeling during obesity. By integrating nuclear RNA-seq data from adipocyte nuclei of varying sizes, we identify distinct adipocyte subpopulations categorized by size and functionality. Specifically, we characterize dysfunctional hypertrophic adipocytes prevalent in visceral adipose tissues during obesity, exhibiting cellular stress, inflammation and impaired metabolic gene expression. Obesity-induced changes in gene expression profiles of adipocyte subpopulations reveal their distinct contributions to adipose tissue pathophysiology. Our study establishes a robust snRNA-seq method, providing novel insights into the mechanisms orchestrating adipose tissue remodeling during obesity, with broader applicability across diverse biological systems.