Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue is a Unique Adipose Subtype with Distinct Roles in Glucose Homeostasis

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2020 Jun 20

PMID 32555194

Citations 85

Authors

Karla J Suchacki

Adriana A S Tavares

Domenico Mattiucci

Erica L Scheller

Giorgos Papanastasiou

Calum Gray

Matthew C Sinton

Lynne E Ramage

Wendy A McDougald

Andrea Lovdel

Richard J Sulston

Benjamin J Thomas

Bonnie M Nicholson

Amanda J Drake

Carlos J Alcaide-Corral

Diana Said

Antonella Poloni

Saverio Cinti

Gavin J Macpherson

Marc R Dweck

Jack P M Andrews

Michelle C Williams

Robert J Wallace

Edwin J R van Beek

Ormond A MacDougald

Nicholas M Morton

Roland H Stimson

William P Cawthorn

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) comprises >10% of total adipose mass, yet unlike white or brown adipose tissues (WAT or BAT) its metabolic functions remain unclear. Herein, we address this critical gap in knowledge. Our transcriptomic analyses revealed that BMAT is distinct from WAT and BAT, with altered glucose metabolism and decreased insulin responsiveness. We therefore tested these functions in mice and humans using positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with F-fluorodeoxyglucose. This revealed that BMAT resists insulin- and cold-stimulated glucose uptake, while further in vivo studies showed that, compared to WAT, BMAT resists insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. Thus, BMAT is functionally distinct from WAT and BAT. However, in humans basal glucose uptake in BMAT is greater than in axial bones or subcutaneous WAT and can be greater than that in skeletal muscle, underscoring the potential of BMAT to influence systemic glucose homeostasis. These PET/CT studies characterise BMAT function in vivo, establish new methods for BMAT analysis, and identify BMAT as a distinct, major adipose tissue subtype.

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