Dense Intra-adipose Sympathetic Arborizations Are Essential for Cold-Induced Beiging of Mouse White Adipose Tissue

Publication date: Available online 14 September 2017
Source:Cell Metabolism
Author(s): Haochen Jiang, Xiaofan Ding, Ying Cao, Huanhuan Wang, Wenwen Zeng
Efferent signals from the central nervous system represent a key layer of regulation of white adipose tissue (WAT). However, the mechanism by which efferent neural signals control WAT metabolism remains to be better understood. Here, we exploit the volume fluorescence-imaging technique to visualize the neural arborizations in mouse inguinal WAT at single-fiber resolution. The imaging reveals a dense network of sympathetic arborizations that had been previously undetected by conventional methods, with sympathetic fibers being in close apposition to > 90% of adipocytes. We demonstrate that these sympathetic fibers originate from the celiac ganglia, which are activated by cold challenge. Sympathetic-specific deletion of TrkA receptor or pharmacologic ablation by 6-hydroxydopamine abolishes these intra-adipose arborizations and, as a result, cold-induced beiging of inguinal WAT. Furthermore, we find that local sympathetic arborizations function through beta-adrenergic receptors in this beiging process. These findings uncover an essential link connecting efferent neural signals with metabolism of individual adipocytes.

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Teaser

Jiang et al. report the visualization of neural innervations in mouse white adipose tissue by the volume fluorescence-imaging technique, which reveals a dense network of sympathetic arborizations that had been previously undetected by conventional methods. Furthermore, these intra-adipose sympathetic arborizations are essential for the cold-induced beiging process.


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