18 Jun 20. Featured Paper

Bone marrow adipose tissue is a unique adipose subtype with distinct roles in glucose homeostasis.

Link to paper on Springer Nature Communications

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

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 & BAT, with altered glucose metabolism & decreased insulin responsiveness.

We therefore tested these functions in mice & humans using positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose.

This revealed that BMAT resists insulin- & 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 & BAT.

However, in humans basal glucose uptake in BMAT is greater than in axial bones or subcutaneous WAT & 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, & identify BMAT as a distinct, major adipose tissue subtype.