Key result
Perivascular adipose tissue harbors distinct bacterial and viral signatures that differ significantly from gut microbiota.
Why the study?
The presence and nature of immune cells in perivascular adipose tissue are poorly understood, leading to the hypothesis of a resident microbiome within PVAT.
This preclinical study provides the first evidence of distinct, temporally variable bacterial and viral communities within perivascular adipose tissue in Dahl SS rats, suggesting a potential role for the resident PVAT microbiome in vascular biology and immune modulation.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
No change to clinical vascular care; leaves open temporally variable PVAT microbiome as hypothesis-generating in animal models.
Background: Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) contains adipocytes and a stromal-vascular fraction with immune cells that modulate the adjacent vasculature. The presence of immune cells in PVAT of vascular beds is poorly understood—are they resident or recruited? We propose a novel resident microbiome present in PVAT, given the immune-rich stromal environment. Hypothesis: We hypothesized the existence of distinct bacterial and viral communities in healthy PVAT compared to non-PVAT adipose tissues. Methods: PVAT samples from thoracic and abdominal aorta, mesenteric resistance arteries, non-PVAT tissues (subscapular brown adipose tissue, retroperitoneal white adipose tissue), and fecal samples were collected one year apart from male Dahl SS rats, split into two cohorts (2023 and 2024, n = 3 each). Whole-genome shotgun sequencing (CosmosID) and 16S rRNA gene analysis assessed microbial relative abundance. Results: PVAT harbored bacterial and viral sequences, and species composition varied significantly between cohorts. Bacterial and viral fecal samples showed lower variability. Conclusions: PVAT microbiome differed dramatically from the fecal microbiome, with temporal influences on bacterial and viral diversity, marking the first such report. Despite inherent limitations, these findings establish the potential of PVAT microbiota in vascular biology and immune modulation, paving the development of microbiome-targeted drugs to address vascular dysfunctions.
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Mahimkar et al. (2026) studied Healthy perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) microbiome composition and variability (n=6). Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) depots (thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, mesenteric resistance arteries) and temporal cohort (2023 vs. 2024) vs. Non-PVAT adipose tissues (subscapular brown adipose tissue, retroperitoneal white adipose tissue) and fecal samples was evaluated on Microbial (bacterial and viral) relative abundance (≥1% threshold) and community composition (Bray-Curtis dissimilarity) (p=<0.01). Perivascular adipose tissue harbored detectable bacterial and viral sequences that differed from fecal samples and varied across collection years.
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