Adipose tissue (AT) is a metabolically active organ composed of approximately 20% adipocytes and a heterogeneous mixture of immune cells, fibroblasts, progenitor cells, and vascular cells in humans1. AT is classified into unilocular white adipose tissue (WAT), multilocular brown adipose tissue (BAT), and intermediate beige adipose tissue, reflecting heterogeneity in composition, function, and anatomical location. WAT is distributed among subcutaneous (SCAT), visceral (VAT), perivascular, and marrow adipose depots, which differ in developmental origin, gene expression profiles, and metabolic function. Beyond its role in lipid storage, AT functions as an endocrine organ by secreting cytokines, hormones, and adipokines2. Compared with SCAT, VAT is more metabolically active and enriched in inflammatory cells, making it particularly relevant for studies of AT inflammation and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes3,4,5.
AT is a key regulator of metabolic health and plays a central role in obesity, which is associated with numerous comorbidities. Obesity promotes adipocyte hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and proliferation6, while AT expansion and inflammation strongly correlate with hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and impaired glucose tolerance3. AT expansion is presumed to be accompanied by increased adipocyte death, with approximately 10% cellular turnover annually7, triggering macrophage recruitment that is essential for tissue clearance and remodeling8. Because adipocytes are substantially larger (100–200 µm) than macrophages, efficient phagocytosis by these approximately fivefold smaller cells is challenging, thereby impairing tissue homeostasis and promoting chronic AT inflammation9. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) mediate the clearance of oversized dying adipocytes either by fusing into multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) or by forming crown-like structures (CLS) around dead adipocytes and degrading them through lysosomal exocytosis10,11,12. CLS abundance correlates with obesity-associated inflammation11,13.
In healthy AT, ATMs are predominantly anti-inflammatory M2-like macrophages, whereas obesity promotes a shift toward a pro-inflammatory M1-like phenotype14,15. Additional mechanistically distinct macrophage subsets emerge, including metabolically activated macrophages (MMes) and lipid-associated macrophages (LAMs), which play important roles in the clearance of dead adipocytes through lysosomal exocytosis16,17,18.
To investigate AT inflammation in a physiologically relevant multicellular environment, the protocol established an ex vivo mouse model based on organotypic explant cultures of VAT derived from lean mice. VAT explants cultured for 7–10 days develop an inflammatory phenotype comparable to that observed after at least 12 weeks of high-fat diet (HFD) feeding with respect to CLS formation, macrophage phenotype, and inflammatory cytokine production9,19. Importantly, this approach reduces animal use, eliminates the need for dietary intervention approvals, and contributes to the 3R principles by reducing the reliance on long-term dietary intervention studies. Compared with conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems, such as single-cell culture models (e.g., 3T3-L1 cells or primary adipocyte cultures), this method preserves tissue complexity and cellular diversity, thereby enabling the investigation of physiological cell–cell interactions, including those between immune cells and adipocytes.
Cultured AT explants are compatible with a wide range of analytical approaches. Live confocal imaging enables the monitoring of ATM accumulation, CLS formation, and MGC formation9,19. Collagenase digestion allows isolation of the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) for flow cytometric analyses, including proliferation assays and determination of M1-like, M2-like, or MMe phenotypes12. Gene expression analyses, including quantitative PCR (qPCR) and RNA sequencing, can be performed on whole explants, SVF cells, or sorted macrophages9. Protein expression and enzymatic activity can be assessed by Western blotting or ELISA12,20,21, while tissue architecture and marker expression can be visualized by whole-mount staining and immunofluorescence9,22. In addition, pharmacological and genetic interventions, including ATM depletion and cytokine treatment, are readily feasible21,23,24.
In summary, this ex vivo mouse model of HFD-like AT inflammation enables investigation of adipocyte death, direct in situ observation of cellular behavior, and pharmacological or genetic manipulations relevant to AT immunology (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Graphical summary of the workflow. Visceral adipose tissue (AT) is isolated from mice, cut into small explants, and cultured for 7–10 days. During the culture period, explants develop an inflammatory phenotype, enabling the study of adipose tissue inflammation under controlled ex vivo conditions. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.