Figure 5.

Differences in adipocyte and macrophage subsets in visceral adipose tissue from pregnant women by pregestational weight status. Visceral adipose tissue in pregnant women exhibits differences in adipocyte size and number depending on pregestational BMI. We found that this tissue is composed by two different macrophage populations based on the presence of CD45 and CD14 markers: resident macrophages (CD45⁻CD14⁺) and recruited macrophages (CD45⁺CD14⁺). Furthermore, four subsets were identified based on HLA-DR expression: CD45⁻CD14⁺HLA-DR^low/−, CD45⁻CD14⁺HLA-DR⁺, CD45⁺CD14⁺HLA-DR^low/−, and CD45⁺CD14⁺HLA-DR⁺. Macrophages express different levels of CD11c, CD206, and CD163 surface markers. In particular, CD206 increases expression in all macrophage subsets at higher BMI, while CD11c expression only increases in resident HLA-DR⁺ macrophages at higher BMI. Visceral adipose tissue from women with pregestational obesity presents adipocyte hypertrophy and a lower number of resident HLA-DR^low/− cells compared to women with normal pregestational weight.