title: Human White Adipocytes Convert Into "Rainbow" Adipocytes In Vitro.
abstract: White adipocytes are plastic cells able to reversibly transdifferentiate into brown adipocytes and into epithelial glandular cells under physiologic stimuli in vivo. These plastic properties could be used in future for regenerative medicine, but are incompletely explored in their details. Here, we focused on plastic properties of human mature adipocytes (MA) combining gene expression profile through microarray analysis with morphologic data obtained by electron and time lapse microscopy. Primary MA showed the classic morphology and gene expression profile of functional mature adipocytes. Notably, despite their committed status, MA expressed high levels of reprogramming genes. MA from ceiling cultures underwent transdifferentiation toward fibroblast-like cells with a well-differentiated morphology and maintaining stem cell gene signatures. The main morphologic aspect of the transdifferentiation process was the secretion of large lipid droplets and the development of organelles necessary for exocrine secretion further supported the liposecretion process. Of note, electron microscope findings suggesting liposecretion phenomena were found also in explants of human fat and rarely in vivo in fat biopsies from obese patients. In conclusion, both MA and post-liposecretion adipocytes show a well-differentiated phenotype with stem cell properties in line with the extraordinary plasticity of adipocytes in vivo. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 2887-2899, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Clinica di Ematologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maurizi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Clinica di Ematologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poloni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Clinica di Ematologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mattiucci
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Genetica Molecolare del CNR, Laboratorio di Biologia Cellulare Muscoloscheletrica, Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Spartaco
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Clinica Chirurgia del Pancreas, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maurizi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Center for Cell-Matrix Research and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Izzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Laboratorio di Patologia Sperimentale, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giuliani
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Clinica di Ematologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Center of Obesity, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Zingaretti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Center of Obesity, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perugini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Center of Obesity, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilenia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Severi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Clinica Chirurgia del Pancreas, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falconi
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Hepatobiliary and Abdominal Transplantation Surgery, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vivarelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Laboratorio di Patologia Sperimentale, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rita
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rippo
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Corvera
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Center of Obesity, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Clinica di Ematologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Center of Obesity, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cinti
mesh_terms: D052437:Adipocytes, Brown / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D052438:Adipocytes, White / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D050156:Adipogenesis; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019070:Cell Lineage; D000066670:Cell Plasticity; D048430:Cell Shape; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D013997:Time Factors; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers