snRNA-seq reveals a subpopulation of adipocytes that regulates thermogenesis.
Sun WInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland. wenfei-sun@ethz.ch.
Dong HInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland.
Balaz MInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland.
Slyper MBroad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Drokhlyansky EBroad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Colleluori GDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Center of Obesity, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Giordano ADepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Center of Obesity, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Kovanicova ZInstitute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Stefanicka PDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Balazova LInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland.
Ding LInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland.
Husted ASThe Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Rudofsky GDepartment of Endocrinology, Cantonal Hospital Olten, Olten, Switzerland.
Ukropec JInstitute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Cinti SDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Center of Obesity, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Schwartz TWThe Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Regev AKlarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Wolfrum CInstitute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland. christian-wolfrum@ethz.ch.
English
Adipose tissue is usually classified on the basis of its function as white, brown or beige (brite)1. It is an important regulator of systemic metabolism, as shown by the fact that dysfunctional adipose tissue in obesity leads to a variety of secondary metabolic complications2,3. In addition, adipose tissue functions as a signalling hub that regulates systemic metabolism through paracrine and endocrine signals4. Here we use single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis in mice and humans to characterize adipocyte heterogeneity. We identify a rare subpopulation of adipocytes in mice that increases in abundance at higher temperatures, and we show that this subpopulation regulates the activity of neighbouring adipocytes through acetate-mediated modulation of their thermogenic capacity. Human adipose tissue contains higher numbers of cells of this subpopulation, which could explain the lower thermogenic activity of human compared to mouse adipose tissue and suggests that targeting this pathway could be used to restore thermogenic activity.