Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesLaboratory StudyEurope PMCOpen access

Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

Lazarescu O., Ziv-Agam M., Haim Y., Hekselman I., Jubran J., Shneyour A.

Laboratory Study, published in Nat Genet (2025) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

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Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

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
Read the A–D evidence level guide

This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Laboratory Study
Journal
Nat Genet (2025)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
39856219
PMCID
PMC11821520
DOI
10.1038/s41588-024-02048-3
Citations
31

Abstract (original English)

Human adipose depots are functionally distinct. Yet, recent single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analyses largely uncovered overlapping or similar cell-type landscapes. We hypothesized that adipocyte subtypes, differentiation trajectories and/or intercellular communication patterns could illuminate this depot similarity-difference gap. For this, we performed snRNA-seq of human subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissues (five or ten samples, respectively). Of 27,665 adipocyte nuclei in both depots, most were 'classical', namely enriched in lipid metabolism pathways. However, we also observed 'nonclassical' adipocyte subtypes, enriched in immune-related, extracellular matrix deposition (fibrosis), vascularization or angiogenesis or ribosomal and mitochondrial processes. Pseudo-temporal analysis showed a developmental trajectory from adipose progenitor cells to classical adipocytes via nonclassical adipocytes, suggesting that the classical state stems from loss, rather than gain, of specialized functions. Last, intercellular communication routes were consistent with the different inflammatory tone of the two depots. Jointly, these findings provide a high-resolution view into the contribution of cellular composition, differentiation and intercellular communication patterns to human fat depot differences.

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.

Evidence level

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

How we grade evidence
AdipocytesHumansCell CommunicationCell DifferentiationFemaleMaleSubcutaneous FatIntra-Abdominal FatLipid MetabolismRNA-Seq

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