Single-nucleus RNA sequencing reveals the cellular composition and the mechanism underlying adrenal myelolipoma.

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)

PURPOSE: Adrenal myelolipoma (AML) is a benign tumor composed of intermixed adipose and hematopoietic tissues, but its detailed cellular composition remains unclear. CXCL12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells have been found to promote hematopoiesis during AML development; however, the mechanism of adipogenesis in AML remains unclear. This study aimed to characterize the cellular composition of AML and elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying its development, with a particular focus on adipocyte origin. METHODS: Four AML specimens and matched adjacent adrenal tissues were subjected to single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and an additional ten paired samples were analyzed using immunostaining. Complementary in vitro experiments were performed to validate the proposed mechanisms of AML development. RESULTS: Unsupervised clustering revealed that AML is composed predominantly of T cells, B cells, neural-like cells, CAR cells, adipocytes, and nearly all types of myeloid cells. RNA velocity analysis suggested that CAR cells might be the lineage source of adipocytes. Consistently, CAR cells isolated from AML tissues demonstrated adipogenic capacity in vitro. Expression analysis showed high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone receptor and androgen receptor in adrenal cortical cells and endothelial cells respectively. CellChat analysis further revealed extensive paracrine signals from adren

Evidence level

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

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.