Brown fat thermogenesis and thermoregulation

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a site of adaptive thermogenesis and contributes to the control of body temperature in small rodents. In humans, BAT thermogenesis is acutely activated by cold exposure; moreover, cold exposure generates long-term effects, such as increased BAT activity and mass, involving in cold adaptation. Activation and recruitment of BAT results in an increase in energy expenditure, a decrease in body fat mass, and a concomitant increase in insulin sensitivity in humans. Moreover, recent studies in mice have yielded insights in the regulation of thermogenic activity of BAT. These include identification of branched-chain amino acids as a crucial substrate for BAT thermogenesis as well as phycological stress that is capable of activating BAT thermogenesis. The major challenges remain elucidating of factors that determines metabolic cell fate of brown adipocytes as well as translating these preclinical scientific advances to humans. Pursuing these issues is relevant to discovering novel therapeutic approaches to modulating body temperature and energy homeostasis and to treating insulin resistance and various stress-related disorders..