UCLA researchers reveal how fat tissue cells influence risk of obesity

UCLA researchers have created the first single-cell map of how DNA is regulated and organized inside different cell types of human fat tissue. The study, published in Nature Genetics, shows that many genetic risk factors for abdominal obesity reside in epigenomic regions of fat cells, offering clues about how body fat is regulated and how it might be better controlled.

Excess belly fat is strongly linked to cardiometabolic diseases like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. While scientists have identified genetic variants associated with the increased risk of these common conditions, it wasn't clear what types of epigenomic regulatory mechanisms drive the risk in cells. The study by co-first authors Zeyuan (Johnson) Chen and Sankha Subhra Das helps shed light on cell-type-level regulatory mechanisms underlying obesity in human fat tissue.

Future studies will test whether manipulating these epigenetic marks affects the behavior of adipocytes in vitro or in animal models. In the long term, the research can advance precision medicine by helping to identify adipocyte-specific biomarkers and therapies for cardiometabolic diseases - tailored to each individual's unique genomic and epigenomic signature.

Read the full story on the UCLA Health website.