Generation of functional adipoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells

hiPSC-derived adipoids are functional, stable 3D adipocyte microtissues that contain mature adipocytes and adipocyte stem/progenitor cells and support stimulated lipolysis and adipokine secretion.

• Why it matters: Human adipose tissue models are limited for metabolic research because primary cultures are hard to scale and 2D adipocyte systems can’t sustain long-term treatment needed for chronic conditions.
• What they did: The team developed an accessible protocol to generate 3D hiPSC-derived adipocyte microtissues (adipoids), then assessed long-term stability and viability, used single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and tested lipolysis and adipokine release.
• The result: The resulting adipoids provide a functional, scalable, genetically tractable platform suitable for large-scale pharmacological screens and for studying human metabolic disease.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.