Mammalian adipogenesis regulator (Areg) cells use retinoic acid signalling to be non- and anti-adipogenic in age-dependent manner.

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)

Adipose stem and precursor cells (ASPCs) give rise to adipocytes and determine the composition and plasticity of adipose tissue. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that ASPCs partition into at least three distinct cell subpopulations, including the enigmatic CD142 + cells. An outstanding challenge is to functionally characterise this population, as discrepant properties, from adipogenic to non- and anti-adipogenic, have been reported for these cells. To resolve these phenotypic ambiguities, we characterised mammalian subcutaneous CD142 + ASPCs across various experimental conditions, demonstrating that CD142 + ASPCs exhibit high molecular and phenotypic robustness. Specifically, we find these cells to be firmly non- and anti-adipogenic both in vitro and in vivo, with their inhibitory signals also impacting adipogenic human cells. However, these CD142 + ASPC-specific properties exhibit surprising temporal phenotypic alterations, and emerge only in an age-dependent manner. Finally, using multi-omic and functional assays, we show that the inhibitory nature of these adipogenesis-regulatory CD142 + ASPCs (Aregs) is driven by specifically expressed secretory factors that cooperate with the retinoic acid signalling pathway to transform the adipogenic state of CD142 - ASPCs into a non-adipogenic, Areg-like state.

Evidence level

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

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