Identification of adipose NG2+ cells as a novel bipotent precursor of pericytes and adipocytes

棕色脂肪组织（BAT）和白色脂肪组织（WAT）是两种主要的哺乳动物脂肪组织，它们通过发展专门的代谢功能来进化以适应各种环境挑战。BAT通过非寒颤产热产生热量，而WAT储存多余的能量或释放脂质以响应代谢需求，在代谢稳态中发挥重要作用。我的研究小组的总体目标是了解脂肪组织适应环境和代谢挑战的脂肪可塑性机制。长时间的能量过剩通常需要来自祖细胞储存库的新脂肪细胞生成（脂肪生成），并伴随新的血管形成（血管生成）。最近的研究表明，脂肪前体细胞位于脂肪脉管系统附近的WAT内，表明脂肪生成与血管生成协调相互作用。然而，对这些动态过程是如何调控的基本理解仍然不清楚。有趣的是，我们最近的数据表明，神经胶质抗原-2阳性（NG2+）细胞对白色脂肪细胞和血管周细胞都有贡献，这些细胞参与新血管的形成，这表明NG2+细胞在脂肪形成和血管生成中都起着关键的调节作用。因此，在当前的提案中，我们建议利用流式细胞术和命运定位小鼠遗传模型，结合尖端成像和测序技术，表征脂肪NG2+细胞的发育潜力及其对脂肪细胞和血管周细胞的功能贡献。本项目不仅将促进我们对脂肪可塑性分子机制的认识，也将为我们的HQPs提供一个理想的研究训练方案。

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT) are the two major mammalian fat tissues that have evolved to adapt to various environmental challenges by developing specialized metabolic functions. While BAT generates heat through non-shivering thermogenesis, WAT stores excess energy or releases lipid in response to metabolic demand, playing an essential role in metabolic homeostasis. The overall goal of my research group is to understand the mechanisms of adipose plasticity by which adipose tissues adapt to environmental and metabolic challenges. Prolonged energy surplus often requires new adipocyte generation (adipogenesis) from the progenitor reservoir with concomitant new vessel formation (angiogenesis). Recent studies have shown that adipocyte precursor cells reside within the WAT in the proximity of the adipose vasculature, suggesting the interplay of adipogenesis in coordination with angiogenesis. Yet, a basic understanding of how these dynamic processes are regulated is still unclear. Interestingly, our recent data suggests that Neural-Glial antigen-2 positive (NG2+) cells contribute to both white adipocytes and vascular pericytes, cells that are involved in new vessel formation, suggesting a key regulatory role of NG2+ cells in both adipogenesis and angiogenesis. Therefore, in the current proposal, we propose to characterize the developmental potential of adipose NG2+ cells and their functional contribution to both adipocytes and vascular pericytes by utilizing flow cytometry and fate mapping mouse genetic models in combination with cutting-edge imaging and sequencing technologies. This project will not only advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of adipose plasticity, but it will also provide an ideal research training program for our HQPs.