Biology and pathological implications of brown adipose tissue: promises and caveats for the control of obesity and its associated complications.

Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc

Department of Nutrition, Diabetes and Metabolism, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Marcoleta 367, Santiago, 8330024, Chile.

Published: May 2018

The discovery of metabolically active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans has fuelled the research of diverse aspects of this previously neglected tissue. BAT is solely present in mammals and its clearest physiological role is non-shivering thermogenesis, owing to the capacity of brown adipocytes to dissipate metabolic energy as heat. Recently, a number of other possible functions have been proposed, including direct regulation of glucose and lipid homeostasis and the secretion of a number of factors with diverse regulatory actions. Herein, we review recent advances in general biological knowledge of BAT and discuss the possible implications of this tissue in human metabolic health. In particular, we confront the claimed thermogenic potential of BAT for human energy balance and body mass regulation, mostly based on animal studies, with the most recent quantifications of human BAT.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.12389DOI Listing

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