A human adipose tissue cell-type transcriptome atlas

Marthe Norreen-Thorsen; Eike Christopher Struck; Sofia Öling; Martin Zwahlen; Kalle Von Feilitzen; Jacob Odeberg; Cecilia Lindskog; Fredrik Pontén; Mathias Uhlén; Philip James Dusart; Lynn Marie Butler

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111046

A human adipose tissue cell-type transcriptome atlas

Cell Rep. 2022 Jul 12;40(2):111046. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111046.

Affiliations

¹ Translational Vascular Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway.
² Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Protein Science, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 171 21 Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Translational Vascular Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway; Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Protein Science, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 171 21 Stockholm, Sweden; The University Hospital of North Norway (UNN), 9019 Tromsø, Norway; Coagulation Unit, Department of Hematology, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden.
⁵ Translational Vascular Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway; Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Protein Science, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 171 21 Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Chemistry and Blood Coagulation Research, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institute, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Chemistry, Karolinska University Laboratory, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
⁶ Translational Vascular Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway; Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Protein Science, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 171 21 Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Chemistry and Blood Coagulation Research, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institute, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Chemistry, Karolinska University Laboratory, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: lynn.butler@ki.se.

PMID: 35830816
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111046

Abstract

The importance of defining cell-type-specific genes is well acknowledged. Technological advances facilitate high-resolution sequencing of single cells, but practical challenges remain. Adipose tissue is composed primarily of adipocytes, large buoyant cells requiring extensive, artefact-generating processing for separation and analysis. Thus, adipocyte data are frequently absent from single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets, despite being the primary functional cell type. Here, we decipher cell-type-enriched transcriptomes from unfractionated human adipose tissue RNA-seq data. We profile all major constituent cell types, using 527 visceral adipose tissue (VAT) or 646 subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) samples, identifying over 2,300 cell-type-enriched transcripts. Sex-subset analysis uncovers a panel of male-only cell-type-enriched genes. By resolving expression profiles of genes differentially expressed between SAT and VAT, we identify mesothelial cells as the primary driver of this variation. This study provides an accessible method to profile cell-type-enriched transcriptomes using bulk RNA-seq, generating a roadmap for adipose tissue biology.

Keywords: CP: Cell biology; CP: Molecular biology; RNA-seq; adipocytes; adipose tissue; cell profiling.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue / metabolism
Gene Expression Profiling
Humans
Intra-Abdominal Fat / metabolism
Male
Subcutaneous Fat* / metabolism
Transcriptome* / genetics