Frontiers in Endocrinology (Apr 2022)

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

  • Kristina Strand,
  • Kristina Strand,
  • Natalie Stiglund,
  • Martha Eimstad Haugstøyl,
  • Martha Eimstad Haugstøyl,
  • Zahra Kamyab,
  • Zahra Kamyab,
  • Victoria Langhelle,
  • Victoria Langhelle,
  • Laurence Lawrence-Archer,
  • Laurence Lawrence-Archer,
  • Christian Busch,
  • Martin Cornillet,
  • Iren Drange Hjellestad,
  • Iren Drange Hjellestad,
  • Hans Jørgen Nielsen,
  • Pål Rasmus Njølstad,
  • Pål Rasmus Njølstad,
  • Gunnar Mellgren,
  • Gunnar Mellgren,
  • Niklas K. Björkström,
  • Johan Fernø,
  • Johan Fernø

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.856530
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

Read online

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