Why the study?
While the cellular composition of white adipose tissue varies between depots, the functional relevance of this heterogeneity remains unclear.
Population
Subcutaneous and visceral white adipose tissue from men and women
Comparison
Subcutaneous vs visceral (omental, mesenteric, mesocolic, and epiploic) depots
Design
Spatial and single-nucleus RNA sequencing study with mechanistic analyses
Key result
Spatial and single-nucleus RNA sequencing of human white adipose tissue revealed that epiploic WAT harbors SAA1/SAA2-expressing adipocytes that activate immune responses in myeloid cells.
Authors
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May inform visceral fat-immune crosstalk; hypothesis-generating for cardiometabolic implications in humans.
Visceral white adipose tissue exhibits distinct cytoarchitectural properties, with colon-associated depots developing specialized adipocytes and immune cell populations that mediate immune-metabolic crosstalk.
Jalkanen et al. (2026) studied White adipose tissue heterogeneity. Spatial and single-nucleus RNA sequencing was evaluated on Cellular composition and spatial organization of white adipose tissue depots. Spatial and single-nucleus RNA sequencing of human white adipose tissue revealed that epiploic WAT harbors SAA1/SAA2-expressing adipocytes that activate immune responses in myeloid cells.