Overview

• The University Hospital Bonn–led team reports that overactive Hedgehog signaling pushes adipocyte precursors to become connective tissue–like cells instead of white fat cells.
• Primary cilia on precursor cells normally restrain Hedgehog activity, and disrupted cilia function removed this control.
• In the Bardet–Biedl syndrome mouse model, deletion of BBS8 reduced the pool of fat precursors as they shifted toward a connective-like identity.
• The work, published August 20, 2025 in The EMBO Journal, identifies a cilia–Hedgehog axis governing cell fate in white adipose tissue.
• Researchers highlight potential therapeutic avenues to prevent pathological adipose remodeling, noting the findings are preclinical and involve a multi-institutional German collaboration.