Adipose tissue at single-cell resolution

Abstract

Adipose tissue exhibits remarkable plasticity with capacity to change in size and cellular composition under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The emergence of single-cell transcriptomics has rapidly transformed our understanding of the diverse array of cell types and cell states residing in adipose tissues and has provided insight into how transcriptional changes in individual cell types contribute to tissue plasticity. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the cellular atlas of adipose tissues focusing on the biological insight gained from single-cell and single-nuclei transcriptomics of murine and human adipose tissues. We also offer our perspective on the exciting opportunities for mapping cellular transitions and crosstalk, which have been made possible by single-cell technologies.

Keywords: adipocytes; adipogenesis; adipose tissue plasticity; cellular heterogeneity; fibro-adipogenic progenitors; inflammation; macrophages; preadipocytes; single-cell sequencing; single-nuclei sequencing.