Novel cell-to-cell communications between macrophages and fibroblasts regulate obesity-induced adipose tissue fibrosis [spatial transcriptomics]

Mincle (Macrophage inducible C-type lectin, clec4e) is a pattern recognition receptor expressed in innate immune cells and can sense cell death, suggesting a role in sterile inflammation. We previously showed that expression of Mincle is induced in adipose tissue macrophages during the development of obesity. Mincle accelerates adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis, thereby exacerbating ectopic lipid accumulation and insulin resistance in the liver. In this study, we performed spatial transcriptomic analysis of the visceral adipose tissue from diet-induced obese mice to analyze distribution of Mincle-expressing macrophages and the gene expression around them. Overall design: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a standard diet or high-fat diet for 36 weeks. Spatial transcriptomic analysis was conducted using epididymal white adipose tissue.