Abstract
Adipose progenitor cells, or preadipocytes, constitute a small population of immature cells within the adipose tissue. They are a heterogeneous group of cells, in which different subtypes have a varying degree of commitment toward diverse cell fates, contributing to white and beige adipogenesis, fibrosis or maintenance of an immature cell phenotype with proliferation capacity. Mature adipocytes as well as cells of the immune system residing in the adipose tissue can modulate the function and differentiation potential of preadipocytes in a contact- and/or paracrine-dependent manner. In the course of obesity, the accumulation of immune cells within the adipose tissue contributes to the development of a pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the tissue. Under such circumstances, the crosstalk between preadipocytes and immune or parenchymal cells of the adipose tissue may critically regulate the differentiation of preadipocytes into white adipocytes, beige adipocytes, or myofibroblasts, thereby influencing adipose tissue expansion and adipose tissue dysfunction, including downregulation of beige adipogenesis and development of fibrosis. The present review will outline the current knowledge about factors shaping cell fate decisions of adipose progenitor cells in the context of obesity-related inflammation.
Highlights
In the past two decades, adipose tissue (AT) has been extensively studied in both rodents and humans, especially regarding mechanisms involved in obesity-related metabolic dysregulation
A recent study defined a developmental hierarchy of APs starting from Dipeptidyl peptidase-4-postive (DPP4+) cells that give rise to committed ICAM1+ and CD142+ preadipocytes capable of adipogenic differentiation (Merrick et al, 2019)
Platelet-derived growth factor-receptor β positive (PDGFRβ+) APs were described as predisposed to a white adipogenic (Gao et al, 2018), while PDGFRα+ progenitors to a beige adipogenic or a fibrogenic phenotype (Lee et al, 2012; Marcelin et al, 2017)
Summary
In the past two decades, adipose tissue (AT) has been extensively studied in both rodents and humans, especially regarding mechanisms involved in obesity-related metabolic dysregulation. There are two morphologically and functionally distinct types of AT: white AT (WAT) and brown AT (BAT). WAT is predominantly responsible for energy storage in the form of triglycerides and secretes hormonal regulators, namely adipokines, such as leptin and adiponectin, which can regulate whole-body’s metabolic homeostasis. BAT, in contrast, has a non-shivering heat production capacity, due to expression of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) (Kershaw and Flier, 2004; Peirce et al, 2014; Rosen and Spiegelman, 2014). Brite adipocytes represent a type of adipocytes that morphologically resemble white rather than brown fat cells and reside within WAT, but express
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