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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Apr 15.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2016 Oct 12;445:95–108. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2016.10.011

Figure 4. Adipose Precursors Contributing to WAT Hyperplasia in Obesity.

Figure 4

Recent pulse-chase lineage tracing studies reveal multiple adipocyte precursor populations involved in white adipose tissue (WAT) expansion in adult mice undergoing high-fat diet feeding (HFD). BrdU labeling experiments indicate that a stem cell-like population of adipose progenitor cells (CD24+; Sca1+; CD34+; Pdgfrα+; CD31−; CD45−) undergo rapid proliferation in response to HFD and differentiate into white adipocytes. The precise location(s) of these cells within the depot remain unclear. The abundance of highly committed population of perivascular (mural) preadipocytes (Pdgfrβ+; Pdgfrα+; CD34+; Sca1+; Zfp423+; Pparγ2+; CD24+/−; CD31−; CD45−) increases upon HFD feeding. Genetic lineage tracing reveals mural Pdgfrβ+ cells contribute to adipocyte hyperplasia in this setting. Whether mural preadipocytes proliferate prior to differentiation is unclear as is whether the more primitive adult adipose progenitor passes through the perivascular stage during differentiation into the mature adipocyte. Other precursor populations that contribute to adipocyte hyperplasia in obesity may exist.