Mapping Human Adipose Tissue Heterogeneity

This project’s goal is to map adipose tissue heterogeneity in healthy humans by integrating chemical imaging, single cell, and single nucleus RNA sequencing from adipocytes and adipocyte precursors with distinct anatomical origins and metabolic function.

This group developed a microfluidic device to integrate Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) imaging and single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies. They published single-cell and single-nuclei RNA-sequencing data from white and brown preadipocytes to clarify how these methods can be used to investigate fragile and difficult to analyze fat cells. They also performed single-nuclei RNA-sequencing on adipose biopsies and identified six distinct cell clusters, including newly identified vascular smooth muscle-derived Trpv1-positive adipose progenitors. They currently are comparing lean and obese tissues to uncover key metabolic differences.