Reduced lipolysis is a common lipid accumulation mechanism for different subtypes of lipomas

Lipomas are common benign adipocyte tumors that have been thoroughly cytogenetically investigated. The characteristic structural chromosomal aberrations involve gene fusions with the most common target the high mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene. Regardless of the cytogenetic changes, lipomas display a very homogenous phenotype. In the present study we used high resolution ¹H magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to molecularly characterize lipomas and matched subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT).

We demonstrate the homogeneity of lipomas on a molecular level and show that there is no significant change in their lipid composition compared to matched SAT.

We hypothesized that while lipomas may have different genetic backgrounds, the similar phenotype is conferred by a shared mechanism of fat accumulation.

To this end, we used RNA-seq to inquire gene expression profiles of lipomas with HMGA2-fusions and without gene fusions. We demonstrate that HMGA2-fusions lipomas are a specific subtype and that the common shared lipid accumulation mechanism is a reduction in lipolysis, with most gene-dysregulations leading to a reduced cAMP in the adipocyte.

Poster-PDF A-1582.PDF

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020