High-resolution profiling of adipose tissue macrophages

• Grant number: 22/05429-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Manoel Mendes de Moraes Vieira
• Grantee: Monara Kaélle Sérvulo Cruz Angelim
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/16030-0 - Immunometabolic adaptation of tissue resident macrophages in health and disease, AP.TEM

Abstract

Obesity is an epidemic disease and a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disorders. Different adipose depots contribute differently to the pathophysiology of Obesity. While accumulation of visceral fat is detrimental, subcutaneous fat is often neutral or beneficial. Many types of immune cells reside in Adipose Tissue (AT). Among them, macrophages are the most abundant and are essential for tissue maintenance and function. In Obesity, macrophages can account for up to 50% of all immune cells in AT, contributing to maintain the low-grade inflammatory state that characterizes the disease. Nonetheless, there is sizable ambiguity in the field concerning the variations of macrophage subpopulations in different fat depots and how they contribute to Obesity pathophysiology. The ambiguity relies in part on the fact that the field often uses an oversimplified classification of Adipose Tissue Monocytes/Macrophages (ATMs) into classically activated M1-like or alternatively activated M2-like macrophages. This classification is based on a handful of predefined markers, which do not reflect macrophage diversity. Thus, in this proposal, we aim to use single cell RNA sequence to provide high-resolution characterization of macrophage heterogeneity in perigonadal adipose tissue of lean and obese insulin resistant mice. In this way, we should draw a parallel between human and mice adipose tissue macrophage population. (AU)