Behavior of adipocytes in the mammary niche during pregnancy and lactation

Abstract

Primarily, the adipose tissue is known for its function storing excess energy as fat. This tissue is also an endocrine organ and communicates with several tissues, such as muscle, liver and brain. In addition, the adipose tissue is an accessible source of adult stem cells. Autologous adipose tissue transplant used for plastic surgery purposes take advantage of this feature. These pluripotent cells are also targets for gene therapy and autologous transplant in regenerative medicine. A recent study using state-of-art technology explores the plasticity within mature adipocyte into stroma of the mammary gland. Strikingly, adipocyte-derived preadipocytes de-differentiate and re-differentiate repeatedly, during pregnancy to accommodate the new imposed body metabolic demand. The emerging knowledge from this study is essential to understand the cellular processes occurring into the mammary gland during pregnancy, lactation, and involution. This idea opens new perspectives to study the involvement of the adipose tissue in systemic regulatory processes during these transitional states and has implication on conditions as cancer and inflammation-related diseases.