Overview

• Nature Genetics published the first cell-type–resolved map of DNA methylation, 3D genome organization, and gene expression across more than 36,000 cells from adult subcutaneous adipose tissue.
• Overlaying GWAS data showed that many abdominal-obesity variants fall within megabase-scale chromatin domains that are active specifically in adipocytes.
• At higher resolution, risk variants cluster in short regulatory elements only hundreds of base pairs long, suggesting fine-tuning control of adipocyte gene expression.
• Adipocyte maturation features extensive 3D chromatin reorganization, with adipocyte-active genes such as ADIPOQ, LEP, and SREBF1 embedded in complex domains.
• The authors propose follow-up epigenome editing and chromatin-loop perturbation studies to validate causality, with longer-term potential for subtype-specific biomarkers and therapies.