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Updated: Sep 3, 2025
Isolation, Characterization, and Purification of Macrophages from Tissues Affected by Obesity-related Inflammation
Published on: April 3, 2017
Metabolic impact of adipose tissue macrophages in the early postnatal life
Tamás Röszer1,2
1Division of Pediatric Obesity, Children's Hospital and Institute of Pediatrics, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Insights
Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) in newborns promote a healthy, fat-burning adipocyte phenotype crucial for lifelong metabolic health. Early-life ATM function significantly impacts adult obesity risk.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Metabolic Health
- Adipose Tissue Biology
Background:
- Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) are implicated in obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.
- ATM roles are primarily studied in adult obesity, overlooking early life.
- Adipocyte hypertrophy in adults correlates with increased ATM numbers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ATMs in early postnatal adipose tissue development.
- To understand how ATMs influence adipocyte phenotype and lipid metabolism in newborns.
- To explore the long-term implications of early-life ATM function on metabolic health.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of ATM presence and function in neonatal adipose tissue.
- Investigating ATM-derived mediators impacting adipocyte lipolysis and mitochondrial activity.
- Correlating early-life ATM phenotypes with adipocyte metabolic profiles.
Main Results:
- ATMs are present at birth and actively synthesize mediators.
- Neonatal ATMs promote adipocyte lipolysis, mitogenesis, and mitochondrial uncoupling.
- This ATM-driven adipocyte phenotype supports lipid metabolism and thermogenesis, preventing excessive adipose expansion.
Conclusions:
- Early-life ATMs are critical for establishing a lean, metabolically healthy adipocyte phenotype.
- Neonatal ATM function is essential for supporting lipid metabolism and thermogenesis.
- The metabolic programming by ATMs in early life may have lasting effects on adult obesity risk.
Abstract:
Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) play key roles in metabolic inflammation, insulin resistance, adipose tissue fibrosis, and immune disorders associated with obesity. Research on ATM biology has mostly been conducted in the setting of adult obesity, since adipocyte hypertrophy is associated with a significant increase in ATM number. Signals that control ATM activation toward a proinflammatory or a proresolving phenotype also determine the developmental program and lipid metabolism of adipocytes after birth. ATMs are present at birth and actively participate in the synthesis of mediators, which induce lipolysis, mitobiogenesis, and mitochondrial uncoupling in adipocytes. ATMs in the newborn and the infant promote a lipolytic and fatty acid oxidizing adipocyte phenotype, which is essential to support the lipid-fueled metabolism, to maintain nonshivering thermogenesis and counteract an excessive adipose tissue expansion. Since adipose tissue metabolism in the early postnatal life determines obesity status in adulthood, early-life ATM functions may have a life-long impact.
