White and Brown Adipose Tissue Share a Common Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitor Population

Abstract

AbstractAdipose tissue heterogeneity has emerged as a central factor in regulating adipose tissue function in physiology and pathophysiology, yet tools to model and study this diversityin vitroremain limited. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on cultured primary white and brown preadipocytes to assess howin vitroconditions impact progenitor identity. We identified two major subpopulations in both depots: committed adipogenic precursors (CAPs) and fibro-adipogenic progenitor-like cells (FAPLs). Remarkably, FAPLs were also present in brown adipose tissue, expanding the known landscape of progenitor populations in this depot. Trajectory and regulon analyses revealed that both white and brown FAPLs exhibit similar pro-fibrotic, stress-responsive signatures and diverge early from proliferating progenitor states. Integration of datasets showed that FAPLs from both depots cluster together, emphasizing their conserved identity, while CAPs remain depot-specific. Comparison to previously publishedin vivosingle-cell datasets revealed that thesein vitropopulations, including brown adipose FAPLs, correspond to adipose-resident progenitor subtypes, validating the physiological relevance of this model for studying adipose tissue heterogeneity and development.