17 SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING OF CREEPING FAT IN CROHN’S DISEASE REVEALS DISTINCT IMMUNE CLUSTERS AND CELLULAR RESTRUCTURING IN THE PRESENCE OF LIVE BACTERIA AND FUNGI

Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis present distinct characteristics, one being the expansion of mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT) surrounding the inflamed intestinal tract (“creeping fat”-CF), which is typical for CD and absent in UC. To-date, creeping fat has been accepted as a mystery with very little published data, and no determination of whether this is a pro-inflammatory or protective response, or both. The current study explores whether microorganism translocation from the inflamed gut to the adjacent mesenteric adipose drives the MAT restructuring observed as CF.