# Investigating the regulation of distinct human adipocyte subpopulations

> **NIH NIH K01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $150,736

## Abstract

Project Summary
Adipose tissue is a central player in energy balance and glucose homeostasis, it is able to expand in the face of
caloric overload in order to store energy safely, but it can become overloaded and dysfunctional, leading to
systemic metabolic compromise in the form of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. To investigate differences
in individual cell types in lean and obese individuals, I have performed single nucleus RNA sequencing (sNuc-
seq) on human subcutaneous and visceral white adipose tissue and created an atlas of cell types present in
white adipose tissue. A major finding from this work was the identification of distinct subpopulations of
adipocytes, some of which are associated with body mass index (BMI). By associating our data with genome-
wide association studies (GWAS) for metabolic traits such as T2D, we additionally predict that some adipocyte
subpopulations are associated with metabolic disease. The objective of this project is to identify factors that
predispose one subpopulation over another, both externally as well as transcriptionally. To do this I will perform
sNuc-seq on adipose tissue collected from subjects during and post-bariatric surgery in order to characterize the
change in adipocyte subpopulation during weight loss. I will next interrogate the chromatin state of adipocyte
subpoulations by performing the Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin on single nuclei from adipose
tissue of lean and obese individuals. Finally, I will directly test potential signaling and transcriptional regulators
of subpopulation identity by performing a screen of potential signaling regulators as well as a CRISPRa screen
of potential transcriptional regulators to try to recapitulate distinct subpopulations in vitro. The experience that I
have in characterizing adipose tissue at single cell resolution, as well as the experience of my mentor and co-
mentor in studying transcriptional and genetic regulation of adipocytes make me uniquely positioned to answer
these questions. Taken together, these studies will enhance our knowledge of human white adipocyte diversity
and will set the stage for downstream studies in my own independent lab and in the community at large.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10747419
- **Project number:** 5K01DK134806-02
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Margo Preminger Emont
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $150,736
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-12-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10747419

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10747419, Investigating the regulation of distinct human adipocyte subpopulations (5K01DK134806-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10747419. Licensed CC0.

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