The mammalian immune system has crucial homeostatic functions in different adipose depots. However, white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and can contribute to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Recently, mesenchymal cells were identified as highly heterogenous populations displaying specialized immune functions in immune cell migration, activation, survival, and overall lymphoid tissue organization in several tissues. How they regulate the inflammatory milieu within different adipose depots remains unknown. Using recently published single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNAseq) data sets, we analyze cytokine and chemokine expression of mouse WAT mesenchymal cell subpopulations to highlight potential immunological heterogeneity and specialization, hypothesizing on their immunological functions. This new perspective on immune–mesenchymal cell interactions in adipose tissue may promote studies that heighten our understanding of immune cell processes within WAT during health and obesity. We hope that these studies redefine our knowledge of the roles of mesenchymal cells in regulating adipose tissue inflammation and physiology.

哺乳动物免疫系统在不同的脂肪库中具有至关重要的稳态功能。然而，白色脂肪组织 (WAT) 炎症是肥胖的标志，可导致 2 型糖尿病 (T2DM)。最近，间充质细胞被鉴定为高度异质的群体，在免疫细胞迁移、激活、存活和几个组织中的整体淋巴组织组织中表现出特殊的免疫功能。它们如何调节不同脂肪库内的炎症环境仍然未知。使用最近发表的单细胞 RNA 测序 (scRNAseq) 数据集，我们分析了小鼠 WAT 间充质细胞亚群的细胞因子和趋化因子表达，以突出潜在的免疫异质性和专业化，并假设它们的免疫功能。这种关于脂肪组织中免疫间充质细胞相互作用的新观点可能会促进研究，提高我们对健康和肥胖期间 WAT 内免疫细胞过程的理解。我们希望这些研究重新定义我们对间充质细胞在调节脂肪组织炎症和生理学中的作用的认识。