Vasculature-associated adipose tissue macrophages dynamically adapt to inflammatory and metabolic challenges

Tissue-resident macrophages comprise the most abundant immune cell population in healthy adipose tissue. Adipose tissue macrophage populations change during metabolic stress and ageing, and are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity. Here, we studied adipose tissue macrophage subpopulations in the steady state, and in response to nutritional and infectious challenges. Using comprehensive cell-surface-based and gene expression analyses, we found that tissue-resident macrophages from healthy epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) tightly associate with blood vessels, displaying a very high endocytic capacity. We refer to these cells as Vasculature-associated Adipose tissue Macrophages (VAMs). Chronic high fat diet (HFD) feeding results in the accumulation of a monocyte-derived CD11c+CD64+ double positive (DP) macrophage eWAT population with a predominant anti-inflammatory gene profile, but reduced endocytic function. In contrast, fasting rapidly and reversibly leads to VAM depletion, while acute inflammatory stress induced by pathogens transiently depletes VAMs and simultaneously boosts DP macrophage accumulation. Our results indicate that adipose tissue macrophage populations adapt to metabolic stress and inflammation, suggesting an important role for these cells in restoring homeostasis.