UC San Diego

Age-associated insulin resistance (IR) and obesity-associated IR are two physiologically distinct forms of adult onset diabetes. While macrophage-driven inflammation is a core driver of obesity-associated IR1-6, the underlying mechanisms of the obesity-independent yet highly prevalent age-associated IR7 are largely unexplored. Comparative adipo-immune profiling (AIP) reveals that fat-resident regulatory T cells, termed fTregs, progressively accumulate in adipose tissue as a function of age, but not obesity. Supporting the existence of two distinct mechanisms underlying age-associated versus obesity-associated IR, mice deficient in fTregs are protected against age-associated IR, yet remain susceptible to obesity-associated IR and metabolic disease. In contrast, selective depletion of fTregs via anti-ST2 antibody treatment increases adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. These findings establish that distinct immune cell populations within adipose tissue underlie aging- and obesity-associated IR and implicate fTregs as adipo-immune drivers and potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of age-associated IR.