Subtype-Specific Surface Proteins on Adipose Tissue Macrophages and Their Association to Obesity-Induced Insulin Resistance

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Apr 11:13:856530. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.856530. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

A chronic low-grade inflammation, originating in the adipose tissue, is considered a driver of obesity-associated insulin resistance. Macrophage composition in white adipose tissue is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, but a detailed characterization of pro- and anti-inflammatory adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) in human obesity and how they are distributed in visceral- and subcutaneous adipose depots is lacking. In this study, we performed a surface proteome screening of pro- and anti-inflammatory ATMs in both subcutaneous- (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and evaluated their relationship with systemic insulin resistance. From the proteomics screen we found novel surface proteins specific to M1-like- and M2-like macrophages, and we identified depot-specific immunophenotypes in SAT and VAT. Furthermore, we found that insulin resistance, assessed by HOMA-IR, was positively associated with a relative increase in pro-inflammatory M1-like macrophages in both SAT and VAT.

Keywords: adipose tissue macrophage; flow cytometry; insulin resistance; obesity; surface proteomics.

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Insulin Resistance*
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Obesity / complications

Substances

  • Membrane Proteins