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      Renaissance of brown adipose tissue research: integrating the old and new.

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      International journal of obesity supplements
      Springer Nature

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          Abstract

          The recent demonstration of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, along with the discovery of vast cellular and metabolic plasticity of adipocyte phenotypes, has given new hope of targeting adipose tissue for therapeutic benefit. Application of principles learned from the first wave of obesity-related BAT research, conducted 30 years earlier, suggests that the activity and/or mass of brown fat will need to be greatly expanded for it to significantly contribute to total energy expenditure. Although the thermogenic capacity of human brown fat is very modest, its presence often correlates with improved metabolic status, suggesting possible beneficial endocrine functions. Recent advances in our understanding of the nature of progenitors and the transcriptional programs that guide phenotypic diversity have demonstrated the possibility of expanding the population of brown adipocytes in rodent models. Expanded populations of brown and beige adipocytes will require tight control of their metabolic activity, which might be achieved by selective neural activation, tissue-selective signaling or direct activation of lipolysis, which supplies the central fuel of thermogenesis.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Int J Obes Suppl
          International journal of obesity supplements
          Springer Nature
          2046-2166
          2046-2166
          Aug 2015
          : 5
          : Suppl 1
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Center for Integrative Metabolic and Endocrine Research, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI, USA.
          Article
          10.1038/ijosup.2015.3
          4850572
          27152176
          ebbfcb70-e0de-4f0c-8366-07245fa42c96
          History

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