Obesity Alters B Cell and Macrophage Populations in Brown Adipose Tissue

The prevalence of obesity continues to rise, and it is understood that regulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) function is important to systemic metabolic homeostasis. Immune cells play a central role in the maintenance of WAT, and their compositions change in number and inflammatory phenotype with the progression of obesity. Because of its energy-burning capabilities, brown adipose tissue (BAT) has become a focus of obesity research. Although novel studies have focused on the function of brown adipocytes in thermogenesis, the tissue as a whole has not been immunologically characterized.

BAT immune cell populations were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry in mice with diet-induced obesity (3, 8, or 16 weeks of diet) and in aged mice (1, 6-7, and 10-15 months).

The data confirmed the presence of macrophages and eosinophils, as previously reported, and showed that 20% to 30% of the immune cells in BAT were B cells. The number of B cells and eosinophils increased with diet-induced obesity, whereas macrophages decreased. There was no change in number of any immune cell quantified with age.

These studies reveal a novel finding of B220 + B cells in BAT and show that BAT immune cell populations change in response to diet-induced obesity.