Bone marrow immune cells respond to fluctuating nutritional stress to constrain weight regain

Abstract

Weight regain after weight loss is a major challenge in the treatment of obesity. Immune cells adapt to fluctuating nutritional stress, but their roles in regulating weight regain remain unclear. Here, we identify a stem cell-like CD7⁺ monocyte subpopulation accumulating in the bone marrow (BM) of mice and humans that experienced dieting-induced weight loss. Adoptive transfer of CD7⁺ monocytes suppresses weight regain, whereas inducible depletion of CD7⁺ monocytes accelerates it. These cells, accumulating metabolic memories via epigenetic adaptations, preferentially migrate to the subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT), where they secrete fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) to activate the protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway and facilitate beige fat thermogenesis. Nevertheless, CD7⁺ monocytes gradually enter a quiescent state after weight loss, accompanied by increased susceptibility to weight regain. Notably, administration of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3L) remarkably rejuvenates CD7⁺ monocytes, thus ameliorating rapid weight regain. Together, our findings identify a unique bone marrow-derived metabolic-memory immune cell population that could be targeted to combat obesity.

Keywords: CD7+ monocytes; bone marrow; obesity; thermogenesis; weight regain.