Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29035364›Full record

ArticleNature medicine2017

Sympathetic neuron-associated macrophages contribute to obesity by importing and metabolizing norepinephrine.

Roksana M Pirzgalska, Elsa Seixas, Jason S Seidman, Verena M Link, Noelia Martínez Sánchez, Inês Mahú, Raquel Mendes, Vitka Gres, Nadiya Kubasova, Imogen Morris and 12 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 306 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
306citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
26.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

306 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 485 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Neurovascular interactions in the ageing heart.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026
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  10. DICER-driven regulation of lipid metabolism and macrophage-adipocyte crosstalk in partial lipodystrophy.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Adhesion-Related Macrophages Regulate Metabolic Homeostasis Through CAV-1 Dependency.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Lymphocyte Antigen 6G Mediates Vagotomy-Associated Reduction in Body Weight.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Article
  20. Article

246 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.

Roksana M PirzgalskaThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Elsa SeixasThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Jason S SeidmanDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Verena M LinkDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Noelia Martínez SánchezThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Inês MahúThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Raquel MendesThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Vitka GresThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Nadiya KubasovaThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Imogen MorrisThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Bernardo A ArúsThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Chelsea M LarabeeThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Miguel VasquesThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Francisco TortosaDepartment of Pathology, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Hospital de Santa Maria, EPE, Lisbon, Portugal.
Ana L SousaElectron Microscopy Unit, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Sathyavathy AnandanThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Erin TranfieldElectron Microscopy Unit, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Maureen K HahnVanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Matteo IannaconeDivision of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9370-2671
Nathanael J SpannDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Christopher K GlassDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Ana I DomingosThe Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Obesity Laboratory, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência · PTUniversity of California San Diego · USCentro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte · PTHospital Curry Cabral · PTHoward Hughes Medical Institute · USIstituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico · ITUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul · BRVanderbilt University · US

Funding

Transcriptional co-regulators and macrophage gene expressionR01DK091183 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI GLASS, CHRISTOPHER K · 2011 to 2025
$9.9M
MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO ENDOCRINOLOGYT32DK007541 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI GAULTON, KYLE JEFFRIE, MAJITHIA, AMIT · 1987 to 2022
$4.5M
NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK091183NIDDK NIH HHS T32 DK007541Wellcome Trust 208576Wellcome Trust 208576/Z/17/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The cellular mechanism(s) linking macrophages to norepinephrine (NE)-mediated regulation of thermogenesis have been a topic of debate. Here we identify sympathetic neuron-associated macrophages (SAMs) as a population of cells that mediate clearance of NE via expression of solute carrier family 6 member 2 (SLC6A2), an NE transporter, and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), a degradation enzyme. Optogenetic activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) upregulates NE uptake by SAMs and shifts the SAM profile to a more proinflammatory state. NE uptake by SAMs is prevented by genetic deletion of Slc6a2 or inhibition of the encoded transporter. We also observed an increased proportion of SAMs in the SNS of two mouse models of obesity. Genetic ablation of Slc6a2 in SAMs increases brown adipose tissue (BAT) content, causes browning of white fat, increases thermogenesis, and leads to substantial and sustained weight loss in obese mice. We further show that this pathway is conserved, as human sympathetic ganglia also contain SAMs expressing the analogous molecular machinery for NE clearance, which thus constitutes a potential target for obesity treatment.

Indexed as

AnimalsCX3C Chemokine Receptor 1Gene Expression ProfilingHomeostasisMacrophagesMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, TransgenicNeuronsNorepinephrineNorepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsObesitySympathetic Nervous SystemCX3C Chemokine Receptor 1Cx3cr1 protein, mouseNorepinephrineNorepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsSlc6a2 protein, mouse

Identifiers

PMID29035364
PMCPMC7104364
OpenAlexW2762158227

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.