The Frequencies of Immunosuppressive Cells in Adipose Tissue Differ in Human, Non-human Primate, and Mouse Models.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Although the metabolic properties of white adipose tissue have been extensively characterized, the tissue's immune properties are now attracting renewed interest. Early experiments in a mouse model suggested that white adipose tissue contains a high density of regulatory T cells (Tregs), and so it was assumed that all adipose tissue has an immunosuppressive profile-even though the investigation was limited to visceral body fat in relatively old male mice. This observation was also corroborated by high frequencies of other cell subsets with immunoregulatory properties, such as anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, and regulatory B cells. Many studies have since evidenced the persistence of pathogens (trypanosomes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , HIV, etc.) in adipose tissue. However, a recent report identified adipose tissue as a reservoir of memory T cells capable of protecting animals upon rechallenge. The immune potential of lean adipose tissue thus remains to be further investigated. Here, we compared the relative proportions of immune cells (and Tregs in particular) in lean adipose tissue collected from humans, a non-human primate (the cynomolgus macaque), and three mouse models. We demonstrated that the proportion of Foxp3+ Tregs in visceral adipose tissue was low in all models other than the C57Bl/6 mouse. These low values were not linked to correspondingly low proportions of ef

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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