A new study from the Layne lab “Aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein enhances adipose tissue stromal progenitor differentiation into myofibroblasts and is upregulated in fibrotic white adipose tissue
” was recently published in PLoS One. This research identified a new pathway regulating of adipose tissue differentiation and fibrotic remodeling. First author and graduate student Mike Jager, along with collaborators in the Farmer and Fried labs determimed that the secreted protein Aortic Carboxypeptidase-like Protein (ACLP) repressed the differentiation of mouse and human adipocyte progenitors and was upregulated in fibrotic adipose tissue. ACLP was co-expressed with collagens in the adipose tissue and indicate that ACLP is a novel regulator of adipose progenitors and fibrosis.