Isolation and culture of human mature adipocytes using membrane mature adipocyte aggregate cultures (MAAC)

Abstract

White adipose tissue (WAT) dysregulation plays a central role in development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). To develop new treatments for T2D, more physiologically relevant in vitro adipocyte models are required. This study describes a new technique to isolate and culture mature human adipocytes. This method is entitled MAAC (membrane mature adipocyte aggregate culture), and compared to other adipocyte in vitro models, MAAC possesses an adipogenic gene signature that is the closest to freshly isolated mature adipocytes. Using MAAC, adipocytes can be cultured from lean and obese patients, different adipose depots, co-cultured with different cell types, and importantly, can be kept in culture for 2 weeks. Functional experiments can also be performed on MAAC including glucose uptake, lipogenesis, and lipolysis. Moreover, MAAC responds robustly to diverse pharmacological agonism and can be used to study adipocyte phenotypic changes, including the transdifferentiation of white adipocytes into brown-like fat cells.