Macrophage heterogeneity in resolving atherosclerosis and obesity: convergence and divergence

SPEAKER - Edward A. Fisher, MD, PhD, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine

Obesity increases the risk of coronary artery disease, which is the result of atherosclerosis. Adipose tissue (AT) and atherosclerotic plaques have a diverse population of leukocytes, with a prominent role in both tissues played by macrophages. We have pioneered mouse models to study the resolution of inflammation of macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques and have recently turned our attention to doing the same in AT. By using single cell RNA seq, we can identify multiple clusters of macrophages in each tissue, each one characterized by bioinformatically distinct transcriptome signatures, presumably representing functional differences. By using protocols to first progress plaques and adiposity, then to introduce resolving treatments, we are compiling an atlas of the changes in the clusters and the relationships between macrophages in both tissues. Remarkably, we have very recently obtained evidence that the changes in AT macrophages can affect the phenotype of their relatives in the plaques and alter the atherosclerotic burden.