The metabolic and functional roles of sensory nerves in adipose tissues.

Nat Metab

Department of Neurological Surgery, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Published: September 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Homeostatic regulation of adipose tissue is essential for energy balance and metabolism, involving neural communication between the brain and adipose tissue.
  • Research has primarily focused on sympathetic nerves and norepinephrine, but recent studies are exploring the role of sensory nerves and neuropeptides, which remain understudied.
  • New imaging and tissue denervation methods have shown that sensory nerves significantly impact adipose functions, including lipolysis and browning, and this summary highlights key historical and recent findings on these sensory nerves and their metabolic roles.

Article Abstract

Homeostatic regulation of adipose tissue is critical for the maintenance of energy balance and whole-body metabolism. The peripheral nervous system provides bidirectional neural communication between the brain and adipose tissue, thereby providing homeostatic control. Most research on adipose innervation and nerve functions has been limited to the sympathetic nerves and their neurotransmitter norepinephrine. In recent years, more work has focused on adipose sensory nerves, but the contributions of subsets of sensory nerves to metabolism and the specific roles contributed by sensory neuropeptides are still understudied. Advances in imaging of adipose innervation and newer tissue denervation techniques have confirmed that sensory nerves contribute to the regulation of adipose functions, including lipolysis and browning. Here, we summarize the historical and latest findings on the regulation, function and plasticity of adipose tissue sensory nerves that contribute to metabolically important processes such as lipolysis, vascular control and sympathetic axis cross-talk.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00868-xDOI Listing

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