Single-cell sequencing unveils key contributions of immune cell populations in cancer-associated adipose wasting

Abstract Adipose tissue loss seen with cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) may functionally drive cachexia development. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we unveil a large-scale comprehensive cellular census of the stromal vascular fraction of white adipose tissues from patients with or without CAC. W...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jun Han, Yuchen Wang, Yan Qiu, Diya Sun, Yan Liu, Zhigang Li, Ben Zhou, Haibing Zhang, Yichuan Xiao, Guohao Wu, Qiurong Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2022-11-01
Series:Cell Discovery
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41421-022-00466-3
Description
Summary:Abstract Adipose tissue loss seen with cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) may functionally drive cachexia development. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we unveil a large-scale comprehensive cellular census of the stromal vascular fraction of white adipose tissues from patients with or without CAC. We report depot- and disease-specific clusters and developmental trajectories of adipose progenitors and immune cells. In adipose tissues with CAC, clear pro-inflammatory transitions were discovered in adipose progenitors, macrophages and CD8+ T cells, with dramatically remodeled cell interactome among these cells, implicating a synergistic effect in promoting tissue inflammation. Remarkably, activated CD8+ T cells contributed specifically to increased IFNG expression in adipose tissues from cachexia patients, and displayed a significant pro-catabolic effect on adipocytes in vitro; whereas macrophage depletion resulted in significantly rescued adipose catabolism and alleviated cachexia in a CAC animal model. Taken together, these results unveil causative mechanisms underlying the chronical inflammation and adipose wasting in CAC.
ISSN:2056-5968