Single-cell atlas reveals cellular heterogeneity and BMP5-mediated regulation of adipogenic differentiation in sheep adipose tissue
Cheng J., Han K., Xu D., Tian H., Zhang X., Zhao L.
Animal Study, published in Commun Biol (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
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
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
- Animal Study
- Journal
- Commun Biol (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41565772
- PMCID
- PMC12923642
- DOI
- 10.1038/s42003-026-09581-3
Abstract (original English)
Adipose tissue is a heterogeneous multifunctional organ, and understanding depot-specific cellular and molecular diversity reveals functional differences. Here, We construct a single-cell atlas of major adipose depots in sheep, providing foundational data for understanding regional fat deposition. We identify depot-specific adipocytes, with visceral fat (ACSS3+ADC3) and subcutaneous fat (SCD+ADC2) showing distinct adipocyte populations, and tail fat containing a specific type of fibroadipogenic progenitor cells (PDGFRA+ASPC2). Focusing on the unique tail fat of fat-tailed sheep, we conduct longitudinal developmental analyses and identify the BMP signaling pathway as a key upstream regulator of adipogenesis, with bone morphogenetic protein 5 (BMP5) as a critical ligand. We show that knockdown of BMP5 significantly reduces triglyceride accumulation in adipocytes. Collectively, this study indicates that subcutaneous fat is primarily involved in lipid metabolism, whereas visceral fat is linked to metabolic and immune homeostasis. Moreover, BMP5 was identified as a key candidate gene regulating tail fat development. These findings provide potential molecular targets for regulating fat deposition in livestock breeding and offer a valuable resource for studying adipose tissue biology in large mammals.
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.
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