Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhengyan Zhang, Di Yang, Junwei Xiang, Jingwen Zhou, Hua Cao, Qishi Che, Yan Bai, Jiao Guo, Zhengquan Su
Summary: Thermogenic organs in mammals play a crucial role in increasing heat production and energy regulation. Targeting specific signalling pathways to enhance energy expenditure via brown adipose tissue may be a potential strategy for treating obesity and related diseases. Studies have shown that various natural products can promote thermogenesis through different signalling pathways, offering potential for future research on weight-loss nutraceuticals or drugs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Woo Yong Park, Gahee Song, Mina Boo, Hyo In Kim, Ja Yeon Park, Se Jin Jung, Minji Choi, Beomsu Kim, Young Doo Kim, Myung-Ho Kim, Kwan-Il Kim, Hyun Jeong Kwak, Jungtae Leem, Jae-Young Um, Jinbong Park
Summary: Obesity is a global health burden. The AMGB decoction, a multi-herb decoction, has shown clinical anti-obesity effects by suppressing body weight gain and obesity-related parameters, as well as inducing lipolysis in adipose tissues.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Iker Gomez-Garcia, Jenifer Trepiana, Alfredo Fernandez-Quintela, Marta Giralt, Maria P. Portillo
Summary: This narrative review examines the sex differences in the effects of cold exposure, feeding pattern, and age on brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and white adipose tissue (WAT) browning. The findings suggest that females tend to activate thermogenesis earlier in response to cold exposure and exhibit greater sensitivity to overfeeding or energy restriction. Sexual development leads to increased BAT activity, especially in boys, while aging results in a decline in thermogenic capacity, particularly in men. Additionally, females are more susceptible to WAT browning. Further studies are needed to provide valuable information for personalized approaches.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Woo Yong Park, Jinbong Park, Sujin Lee, Gahee Song, In-Koo Nam, Kwang Seok Ahn, Seong-Kyu Choe, Jae-Young Um
Summary: This study demonstrates that the increase in PEX13 protein during cold-induced beige adipocyte recruitment plays a role in the browning process of white adipocytes. By targeting the Pex13 gene through RNA silencing, the expression of thermogenic proteins such as UCP1 and PGC1 alpha was suppressed, indicating the importance of PEX13 in the beige remodeling of white adipocytes.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY OF LIPIDS
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Gabriella von Essen, Erik Lindsund, Elaina M. Maldonado, Petr Zouhar, Barbara Cannon, Jan Nedergaard
Summary: This study examines the possibility of countering obesity by activating brown or beige adipose tissue and UCP1. The findings show that although UCP1 protein may increase, it is not necessarily utilized for diet-induced thermogenesis. Constant activation of UCP1 is required to effectively ameliorate obesity development.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Birte Niemann, Saskia Haufs-Brusberg, Laura Puetz, Martin Feickert, Michelle Y. Jaeckstein, Anne Hoffmann, Jelena Zurkovic, Markus Heine, Eva-Maria Trautmann, Christa E. Mueller, Anke Toenjes, Christian Schlein, Azin Jafari, Holger K. Eltzschig, Thorsten Gnad, Matthias Bluher, Natalie Krahmer, Peter Kovacs, Joerg Heeren, Alexander Pfeifer
Summary: This study reveals that inosine, a metabolite released during apoptosis, enhances the thermogenic program in healthy adipocytes and regulates energy expenditure. The equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (ENT1) controls inosine levels in brown adipose tissue, affecting thermogenic capacity. In humans, a loss of function mutation in ENT1 is associated with lower body mass index and reduced odds of obesity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Woo Yong Park, Gahee Song, Ja Yeon Park, Kwan-Il Kim, Kwang Seok Ahn, Hyun Jeong Kwak, Jungtae Leem, Jae-Young Um, Jinbong Park
Summary: The extract of Gardenia jasminoides fruit induces thermogenic action by activating mitochondrial function via PPAR gamma activation, suggesting potential as an anti-obesity agent with a novel mechanism involving thermogenic action in white adipocytes.
Article
Biology
Aashley S. D. Sardjoe Mishre, Borja Martinez-Tellez, Francisco M. Acosta, Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado, Maaike E. Straat, Andrew G. Webb, Hermien E. Kan, Patrick C. N. Rensen, Jonatan R. Ruiz
Summary: The shivering threshold time is associated with body composition and surface area, but not with brown adipose tissue and shivering perception.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Petra Janovska, Petr Zouhar, Kristina Bardova, Jakub Otahal, Marek Vrbacky, Tomas Mracek, Katerina Adamcova, Lucie Lenkova, Jiri Funda, Tomas Cajka, Zdenek Drahota, Sara Stanic, Arild C. Rustan, Olga Horakova, Josef Houstek, Martin Rossmeisl, Jan Kopecky
Summary: This study investigates the relative contribution of adrenergic non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and lipid oxidation in skeletal muscle for thermoregulation and energy homeostasis. The results suggest that in the face of inadequate adrenergic NST in BAT, adaptive augmentation of NST in skeletal muscle occurs, providing protection against cold and resistance to obesity.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Zan Huang, Zengdi Zhang, Zahra Moazzami, Ryan Heck, Ping Hu, Hezkiel Nanda, Kaiqun Ren, Zequn Sun, Alessandro Bartolomucci, Yan Gao, Dongjun Chung, Weiyun Zhu, Steven Shen, Hai-Bin Ruan
Summary: The interscapular BAT of rabbits whitens rapidly during early adulthood, in contrast to rodents. Progenitors in rabbit and human iBAT highly express the FSTL1 gene. In rabbits, FSTL1 expression decreases in adipocyte progenitors during iBAT involution, making them refractory to brown adipogenic recruitment.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stefanie Maurer, Matthew Harms, Jeremie Boucher
Summary: Understanding the conversion of brown and brite adipocytes is crucial for improving metabolic disorders, and identifying novel browning agents is necessary before this adipocyte transdifferentiation can be realized as a safe and efficacious therapy in humans.
Article
Sport Sciences
Andrea Mendez-Gutierrez, Concepcion M. Aguilera, Francisco J. Osuna-Prieto, Borja Martinez-Tellez, Ma Cruz Rico Prados, Francisco M. Acosta, Jose M. Llamas-Elvira, Jonatan R. Ruiz, Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado
Summary: This study analyzed the acute and chronic effects of exercise on the circulating concentrations of exerkines in humans. The results showed that acute endurance exercise releases exerkines that regulate BAT metabolism and WAT browning, while low-intensity resistance exercise and long-term training programs did not significantly alter plasma levels of these molecules.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SPORT SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Jan-Inge Bjune, Pouda Panahandeh Stromland, Regine Asen Jersin, Gunnar Mellgren, Simon Nitter Dankel
Summary: Sex hormones play an important role in the differences between males and females in terms of body fat distribution and associated disease risk. Estrogen, in particular, is associated with more fat storage on hips and thighs rather than in visceral depots. It exerts its effects on adipocytes through estrogen receptors, protecting against adipose inflammation and fibrosis. The exact mechanisms of estrogen-dependent body fat distribution are not fully understood but involve signaling pathways, autophagy suppression, and epigenetic regulation. More research is needed to understand the specific effects of estrogen on different adipocyte subtypes and its role in sexual dimorphisms and obesity-related disease risk.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Yanrui Huang, Jenny H. Zhou, Haifeng Zhang, Alberto Canfran-Duque, Abhishek K. Singh, Rachel J. Perry, Gerald Shulman, Carlos Fernandez-Hernando, Wang Min
Summary: This study investigates the impact of BAT inflammation on metabolism and thermogenesis, focusing on the deficiency of protein TRX2 in mice. The results show that BAT-specific TRX2 deficiency improves systematic metabolic performance by enhancing lipid uptake and protects against diet-induced obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and insulin resistance. TRX2 deficiency impairs adaptive thermogenesis by suppressing fatty acid oxidation. Mechanistically, TRX2 deficiency leads to excessive mitochondrial ROS production, disruption of mitochondrial integrity, and cytosolic release of mitochondrial DNA, which activate abnormal immune responses in BAT.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Haopeng Xiao, Luiz H. M. Bozi, Yizhi Sun, Christopher L. Riley, Vivek M. Philip, Mandy Chen, Jiaming Li, Tian Zhang, Evanna L. Mills, Margo P. Emont, Wenfei Sun, Anita Reddy, Ryan Garrity, Jiani Long, Tobias Becher, Laura Potano Vitas, Dina Laznik-Bogoslavski, Martha Ordonez, Xinyue Liu, Xiong Chen, Yun Wang, Weihai Liu, Nhien Tran, Yitong Liu, Yang Zhang, Aaron M. Cypess, Andrew P. White, Yuchen He, Rebecca Deng, Heiko Schoder, Joao A. Paulo, Mark P. Jedrychowski, Alexander S. Banks, Yu-Hua Tseng, Paul Cohen, Linus T. Tsai, Evan D. Rosen, Samuel Klein, Maria Chondronikola, Fiona E. McAllister, Nick Van Bruggen, Edward L. Huttlin, Bruce M. Spiegelman, Gary A. Churchill, Steven P. Gygi, Edward T. Chouchani
Summary: By studying a genetically diverse cohort of mice, researchers have identified the functional architecture of brown adipose tissue (BAT) proteome and discovered key regulators of BAT. They also found proteins that are associated with protection from or sensitivity to metabolic diseases. These findings provide important insights into the conserved mechanisms of BAT regulation over metabolic physiology.