A Microphysiologic Platform for Human Fat: Sandwiched White Adipose Tissue

Area of Science:

• Adipose tissue biology
• Tissue engineering
• Physiology

Background:

• White adipose tissue (WAT) is vital for metabolic health.
• Existing primary WAT culture models have short viability (≤2 weeks) and fail to mimic the in vivo microenvironment.
• This limits research in WAT metabolism and pharmaceutical development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, reliable primary culture platform for WAT.
• To overcome limitations of existing WAT culture models.
• To create a system that faithfully recapitulates the adipose microenvironment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a microphysiologic system based on NIH standards.
• Developed the 'SWAT' (sandwiched white adipose tissue) platform.
• Overcame adipocyte buoyancy by sandwiching WAT between adipose-derived stromal cells.

Main Results:

• SWAT cultures maintained WAT viability for over eight weeks.
• The platform preserved the extracellular matrix (ECM), cell-to-cell contacts, and physical pressures of in vivo WAT.
• SWAT demonstrated a robust transcriptional profile, responsiveness to chemical signaling, and maintained whole tissue function.

Conclusions:

• SWAT is a simple, reproducible, and effective method for primary adipose tissue culture.
• This platform overcomes critical limitations of previous WAT models.
• SWAT holds broad applicability for research in WAT physiology, pathophysiology, metabolism, and drug development.