Here we show that ablation of Blimp-1 in adipose tissue resident Tregs (aTregs) leads to decreased IL-10 production, resulting in increased Ucp-1 expression and beiging by adipocytes and protection from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. ABSTRACTCrosstalk between the immune system and adipocytes is critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis and regulating chronic systemic inflammation during diet-induced obesity (DIO). How visceral adipose tissue resident regulatory T cells (aTregs) signal to adipocytes in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is not understood. Here we show that Treg-specific ablation of the transcriptional regulator Blimp-1 resulted in increased insulin sensitivity, decreased body weight and increased Ucp-1 in adipocytes in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Blimp-1 drives IL-10 production in Tregs, thus suppressing beiging and energy expenditure in adipocytes.Moreover, IL-10 mRNA expression positively correlated with increasing body weight in humans.These findings reveal a surprising relationship between aTregs and adipocytes in promoting insulin resistance during excessive caloric intake, placing Blimp-1-regulated IL-10 expression by aTregs at a critical juncture in the development of obesity and its associated comorbidities in mice and humans.We would like to acknowledge Drs. McGeachy and Kane for critical reading the manuscript and all members of the D'Cruz lab for their constructive criticism and comments. We would also like to thank the University of Pittsburgh Unified Flow Core for assistance with cell sorting and flow cytometry. The authors declare no competing interests.
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