Building the First True 3D Model of Human Adipose Tissue
What if scientists could grow human fat tissue in the lab, complete with blood vessels, nerves, and immune cells, to better understand how it behaves in health and disease? That’s exactly what the new ODIN-supported project ADIPOTECH sets out to do. By building the first true 3D model of human adipose tissue, the team aims to transform how researchers study metabolism and develop treatments for cardiometabolic diseases.
A New Chapter in Adipose Tissue Research
Adipose tissue, commonly known as body fat, is more than just energy storage. It plays a central role in our metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular health. However, current cell models used to study adipose tissue fall short. They lack the complexity of real human tissue, limiting their usefulness in predicting how drugs will perform in clinical trials.
The ADIPOTECH project aims to change this. By developing advanced 3D cell culture models that better reflect the real structure and function of human adipose tissue, ADIPOTECH aims to accelerate the discovery of new treatments for cardiometabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
“This project is about closing the gap between basic biology and implementation in research and development. With ADIPOTECH, we’re building a model that researchers and companies alike can use to develop better, more targeted treatments,” says Zachary Gerhart-Hines, Head of the ADIPOTECH project.
From 2D to 3D models of adipose tissue
Although adipose tissue is key in many diseases, current lab models are too simplistic. Most rely on flat, two-dimensional (2D) cultures that fail to capture the tissue’s complexity. These models often leave out essential components such as immune cells, blood vessels, and nervous tissue, all of which play critical roles in how adipose tissue behaves in health and disease.
As a result, drug development in this space has been inefficient, costly, and prone to failure. The ADIPOTECH project tackles this challenge by creating scalable, human-derived 3D organoid models, which are miniature tissues that replicate the structure and cellular interactions of real adipose tissue.
Building a more realistic model of human adipose tissue
To better mimic the complexity of human adipose tissue, the ADIPOTECH team is taking a stepwise approach where they gradually add key cell types to their organoid model, which are normally missing from lab models.
The key cell types include immune cells, blood vessels, and nerve tissues.
- Immune cells are known to play a major role in metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. The inclusion of immune cells allows researchers to study how inflammation affects cellular functions in adipose tissue, including how the cells respond to insulin.
- Blood vessels are key as adipose tissue is highly vascularized. By including blood vessels in the organoid model, researchers can test how drugs might improve or impair vascular health and fat metabolism.
- Neuronal cells help control energy storage and release through nerve signals. To reflect this, the ADIPOTECH team is introducing lab-grown nerve cells into the system. This will make it possible to study how nerve-fiber interactions influence fat cell behavior and how treatments might target this communication.
When all key cell types are brough together into a fully integrated 3D organoid researchers will have a much more realistic and powerful tool for understanding disease and testing new therapies.
“We’re engineering organoid models that reflect the real cellular complexity of adipose tissue. The goal is to provide a tool that brings us closer to understanding - and treating - metabolic disease,” explains Carolina Hagberg, principal investigator in ADIPOTECH.
Openness as a strength
ADIPOTECH is built on ODIN’s open collaboration approach. By combining expertise from academia and industry, and by sharing all newly developed protocols freely, the project aims to maximize scientific impact.
The open-access nature of ADIPOTECH ensures that its outcomes will benefit a broad range of stakeholders beyond the project’s current industry partner, Novo Nordisk, including:
- Pharmaceutical companies developing new therapies for metabolic diseases.
- Academic researchers investigating adipocyte biology, inflammation, and metabolic regulation.
- Biotech companies working on tools, diagnostics, or drug candidates related to adipose tissue function.
In the long run, this openness will help establish a common scientific foundation that fosters cross-sector collaboration, reduces duplication of effort, and speeds up the development of treatments for cardiometabolic diseases.
“Recently there has been an explosion of data on disease genetics and (adipose) tissue composition and gene/protein expression at single-cell resolution. As an industrial partner in this collaboration, we are excited for the opportunity to co-develop cellular models that will enable us to harvest this novel data, test new hypotheses, and funnel the knowledge into projects leading to the development of treatments for cardiometabolic diseases” says Thomas Åskov Pedersen, company partner from Novo Nordisk.
“This is a unique opportunity to grow as a researcher while contributing to something much bigger than any one lab. The openness of the project encourages real teamwork and creativity. For a young researcher as myself, the open approach can become very valuable in terms of staring new collaborations, when I start my own research group” explains Lucile Dollet, researcher in the ADIPOTECH project.
Meet the team and the expertise driving the ADIPOTECH project
This highly interdisciplinary team brings together researchers with deep expertise in adipose tissue biology, 3D culture systems, and translational medicine.
- Zachary Gerhart-Hines (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
Project Lead, Zach brings expertise in adipose tissue metabolism, genetic manipulation, and fat-nerve interactions. As co-founder of several bio-tech companies, he also has deep insight into preclinical drug development. - Carolina Hagberg (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden)
Carolina is a pioneer in developing vascularized adipose tissue organoids. She specializes in the interaction between fat cells and blood vessels, particularly in the context of obesity and diabetes. - Lucile Dollet (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
Lucile is an expert on adipose tissue immunometabolism and contributes expertise in immune signaling and cell-cell communication in adipose tissue. She has strong experience with in vitro genetic tools. - Thomas Åskov Pedersen (Novo Nordisk, Denmark)
Industry Liaison & 3D Culture Expert, Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge from industry, including experience in scaling up 3D cultures for real-world applications. His input will help ensure the models are robust, usable, and ready for translational research.
By the end of the project, ADIPOTECH aims to deliver the most complete in vitro model of human adipose tissue to date. With its open-access protocols and collaborative spirit, the project will serve as a cornerstone for future research and innovation in cardiometabolic disease.