Brown adipose tissue

Brown adipose tissue
Brown adipose tissue in a woman shown in a FDG PET/CT exam
Details
Identifiers
Latintextus adiposus fuscus
Acronym(s)BAT
MeSHD002001
THH2.00.03.4.00004
FMA20118
Anatomical terminology

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) or brown fat makes up the adipose organ together with white adipose tissue (or white fat).[1] Brown adipose tissue is found in almost all mammals.

Classification of brown fat refers to two distinct cell populations with similar functions. The first shares a common embryological origin with muscle cells, found in larger "classic" deposits. The second develops from white adipocytes that are stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system. These adipocytes are found interspersed in white adipose tissue and are also named 'beige' or 'brite' (for "brown in white"[2]).[3][4][5]

Brown adipose tissue is especially abundant in newborns and in hibernating mammals.[6] It is also present and metabolically active in adult humans,[7][8] but its prevalence decreases as humans age.[9] Its primary function is thermoregulation. In addition to heat produced by shivering muscle, brown adipose tissue produces heat by non-shivering thermogenesis. The therapeutic targeting of brown fat for the treatment of human obesity is an active research field.[10][11]

In contrast to white adipocytes, which contain a single lipid droplet, brown adipocytes contain numerous smaller droplets and a much higher number of (iron-containing) mitochondria, which gives the tissue its color.[3] Brown fat also contains more capillaries than white fat. These supply the tissue with oxygen and nutrients and distribute the produced heat throughout the body.

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  2. ^ Carrière, Audrey; Jeanson, Yannick; Cousin, Béatrice; Arnaud, Emmanuelle; Casteilla, Louis (2013). "Le recrutement et l'activation d'adipocytes bruns et/ou BRITE". Médecine/Sciences (in French). 29 (8–9): 729–735. doi:10.1051/medsci/2013298011. ISSN 0767-0974. PMID 24005627.
  3. ^ a b Enerbäck S (2009). "The origins of brown adipose tissue". New England Journal of Medicine. 360 (19): 2021–2023. doi:10.1056/NEJMcibr0809610. PMID 19420373.
  4. ^ Petrovic N, Walden TB, Shabalina IG, Timmons JA, Cannon B, Nedergaard J (2010). "Chronic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) activation of epididymally derived white adipocyte cultures reveals a population of thermogenically competent, UCP1-containing adipocytes molecularly distinct from classic brown adipocytes". J Biol Chem. 285 (10): 7153–64. doi:10.1074/jbc.M109.053942. PMC 2844165. PMID 20028987.
  5. ^ Wu J, Boström P, Sparks LM, Ye L, Choi JH, Giang AH, Khandekar M, Virtanen KA, Nuutila P, Schaart G, Huang K, Tu H, van Marken Lichtenbelt WD, Hoeks J, Enerbäck S, Schrauwen P, Spiegelman BM (2012). "Beige adipocytes are a distinct type of thermogenic fat cell in mouse and human". Cell. 150 (2): 366–76. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.05.016. PMC 3402601. PMID 22796012.
  6. ^ Gesta S, Tseng YH, Kahn CR (October 2007). "Developmental origin of fat: tracking obesity to its source". Cell. 131 (2): 242–56. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.10.004. PMID 17956727. S2CID 52808888.
  7. ^ Nedergaard J, Bengtsson T, Cannon B (2007). "Unexpected evidence for active brown adipose tissue in adult humans". Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 293 (2): E444–52. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00691.2006. PMID 17473055.
  8. ^ Saito M, Okamatsu-Ogura Y, Matsushita M, Watanabe K, Yoneshiro T, Nio-Kobayashi J, Iwanaga T, Miyagawa M, Kameya T, Nakada K, Kawai Y, Tsujisaki M (2009). "High incidence of metabolically active brown adipose tissue in healthy adult humans: effects of cold exposure and adiposity". Diabetes. 58 (7): 1526–31. doi:10.2337/db09-0530. PMC 2699872. PMID 19401428.
  9. ^ Graja A, Schulz TJ (2015). "Mechanisms of aging-related impairment of brown adipocyte development and function". Gerontology. 61 (3): 211–7. doi:10.1159/000366557. PMID 25531079.
  10. ^ Samuelson, Isabella; Vidal-Puig, Antonio (2020). "Studying Brown Adipose Tissue in a Human in vitro Context". Frontiers in Endocrinology. 11: 629. doi:10.3389/fendo.2020.00629. ISSN 1664-2392. PMC 7523498. PMID 33042008.
  11. ^ Osuna-Prieto, F. J.; Martinez-Tellez, B.; Sanchez-Delgado, G.; Aguilera, C. M.; Lozano-Sánchez, J.; Arráez-Román, D.; Segura-Carretero, A.; Ruiz, J. R. (2019). "Activation of Human Brown Adipose Tissue by Capsinoids, Catechins, Ephedrine, and Other Dietary Components: A Systematic Review". Advances in Nutrition. 10 (2): 291–302. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy067. PMC 6416040. PMID 30624591.