Thin Skinned: Aged Adipocyte Atrophy Impacts Innate Immunity

In a recent study, Zhang et al. ( Immunity 2019;50:121–136) report that adipocyte atrophy in aged skin increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Enhanced TGF-β signaling in aged adipocyte progenitor cells induces a fibrotic cell fate that lacks antimicrobial peptides produced by mature adipocytes, highlighting the importance of stromal cells as innate immune effectors