Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

Cite

Lazarescu, O., Ziv-Agam, M., Haim, Y., Hekselman, I., Jubran, J., Shneyour, A., Muallem, H., Zemer, A., Rosengarten-Levin, M., Kitsberg, D. and Levin, L., 2025. Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns. Nature Genetics, pp.1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-02048-3

Abstract

Human adipose depots are functionally distinct. Yet, recent single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analyses largely uncovered overlapping or similar cell-type landscapes. We hypothesized that adipocyte subtypes, differentiation trajectories and/or intercellular communication patterns could illuminate this depot similarity–difference gap. For this, we performed snRNA-seq of human subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissues (five or ten samples, respectively). Of 27,665 adipocyte nuclei in both depots, most were ‘classical’, namely enriched in lipid metabolism pathways. However, we also observed ‘nonclassical’ adipocyte subtypes, enriched in immune-related, extracellular matrix deposition (fibrosis), vascularization or angiogenesis or ribosomal and mitochondrial processes. Pseudo-temporal analysis showed a developmental trajectory from adipose progenitor cells to classical adipocytes via nonclassical adipocytes, suggesting that the classical state stems from loss, rather than gain, of specialized functions. Last, intercellular communication routes were consistent with the different inflammatory tone of the two depots. Jointly, these findings provide a high-resolution view into the contribution of cellular composition, differentiation and intercellular communication patterns to human fat depot differences.

Datasets

1. snRNA-seq of human subcutaneous adipose tissue - all cells

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Reference genome
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GRCh38, GENCODE 3237,879 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

2. snRNA-seq of human visceral adipose tissue - all cells

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GRCh38, v9883,731 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

3. snRNA-seq of human subcutaneous adipose tissue - adipocytes

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Cluster 02,850 cells
Cluster 12,401 cells
Cluster 21,480 cells
Cluster 31,362 cells
Cluster 4979 cells
Cluster 6814 cells
Cluster 5814 cells
Cluster 7389 cells
Cluster 8315 cells
Cluster 9283 cells
Cluster 10220 cells
Cluster 11156 cells
Cluster 1287 cells
Cluster 1355 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

4. snRNA-seq of human visceral adipose tissue - adipocytes

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Seurat clusters
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Cluster 04,424 cells
Cluster 13,730 cells
Cluster 22,136 cells
Cluster 31,493 cells
Cluster 41,309 cells
Cluster 5664 cells
Cluster 6459 cells
Cluster 7264 cells
Cluster 8206 cells
Cluster 9200 cells
Cluster 10194 cells
Cluster 11161 cells
Cluster 12115 cells
Cluster 1364 cells
Cluster 1441 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

5. snRNA-seq of human adipose tissue - adipocytes from subcutaneous and visceral adipose integrated

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iASV122,571 cells
iASV53,064 cells
iASV3837 cells
iASV4440 cells
iASV2431 cells
iASV6222 cells
iASV7100 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

6. snRNA-seq of human subcutaneous adipose tissue - adipocytes integrated with emont et al

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GRCh38, GENCODE 2714,396 cells
GRCh38, GENCODE 3212,205 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

7. snRNA-seq of human visceral adipose tissue - adipocytes integrated with emont et al

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Reference genome
Alignment software
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Donor living at sample collection
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GRCh38, v9815,460 cells
GRCh38, v9011,475 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

8. Differentiation path from ASPCs to adipocytes in subcutaneous adipose tissue

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S33875,423 cells
S33824,520 cells
S33994,313 cells
S34274,203 cells
S33843,768 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

9. Differentiation path from ASPCs to adipocytes in visceral adipose tissue

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Subject ID
Smoking status
Sample ID
Sample preservation method
Sample collection method
Donor BMI at collection
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Suspension dissociation reagent
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S34314,813 cells
S33844,482 cells
S42633,915 cells
S33873,755 cells
S33993,070 cells
S34272,979 cells
S33822,737 cells
S33571,957 cells
S33131,934 cells
S33501,327 cells
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte atlases uncover classical and nonclassical adipocytes and depot-specific patterns

Alias names

GSE281356