Adipose tissue browning and metabolic health
Top Cited Papers
- 31 December 2013
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Reviews Endocrinology
- Vol. 10 (1), 24-36
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.204
Abstract
Accumulation of excess white adipose tissue (WAT) has deleterious consequences for metabolic health. The activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT), the primary organ for heat production, confers beneficial effects on adiposity, insulin resistance and hyperlipidaemia, at least in mice. As the amount of metabolically active BAT seems to be particularly low in patients with obesity or diabetes mellitus who require immediate therapy, new avenues are needed to increase the capacity for adaptive thermogenesis. In this light, we review the findings that BAT in human adults might consist of not only classic brown adipocytes but also inducible brown adipocytes (also called beige, brown-in-white, or brite adipocytes), which are phenotypically distinct from both white and brown adipocytes. Stimulating the development of beige adipocytes in WAT (so called 'browning') might reduce adverse effects of WAT and could help to improve metabolic health. This article focuses on the development and regulatory control of beige adipocytes at the transcriptional and hormonal levels. Emerging insights into the metabolic role of beige adipocytes are also discussed, along with the developments that can be expected from these promising targets for therapy of metabolic disease in the future.This publication has 162 references indexed in Scilit:
- Common Genetic Variation in the Human FNDC5 Locus, Encoding the Novel Muscle-Derived ‘Browning’ Factor Irisin, Determines Insulin SensitivityPLOS ONE, 2013
- miR-155 regulates differentiation of brown and beige adipocytes via a bistable circuitNature Communications, 2013
- Identification of brown adipose tissue in mice with fat–water IDEAL‐MRIJournal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2010
- Transcriptional Control of Brown Fat DevelopmentCell Metabolism, 2010
- Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and the Inflammatory Basis of Metabolic DiseaseCell, 2010
- Hepatic FGF21 Expression Is Induced at Birth via PPARα in Response to Milk Intake and Contributes to Thermogenic Activation of Neonatal Brown FatCell Metabolism, 2010
- Twist-1 Is a PPARδ-Inducible, Negative-Feedback Regulator of PGC-1α in Brown Fat MetabolismCell, 2009
- Beneficial Effects of Subcutaneous Fat Transplantation on MetabolismCell Metabolism, 2008
- Transcriptional Control of Brown Fat Determination by PRDM16Cell Metabolism, 2007
- Transcriptional control of adipocyte formationCell Metabolism, 2006