title: The browning of white adipose tissue: some burning issues.
abstract: Igniting thermogenesis within white adipose tissue (i.e., promoting expression and activity of the uncoupling protein UCP1) has attracted much interest. Numerous "browning agents" have now been described (gene ablations, transgenes, food components, drugs, environments, etc.). The implied action of browning agents is that they increase UCP1 through this heat production, leading to slimming. Here, we particularly point to the possibility that cause and effect may on occasion be the reverse: browning agents may disrupt, for example, the fur, leading to increased heat loss, increased thermogenic demand to counteract this heat loss, and thus, through sympathetic nervous system activation, to enhanced UCP1 expression in white (and brown) adipose tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: jan@metabol.su.se.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nedergaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cannon
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000502:physiology*; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D005502:Food; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects; D022722:Thermogenesis; D045162:Thiazolidinediones / Q000494:pharmacology; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D007473:Ion Channels; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D045162:Thiazolidinediones; C000604371:UCP1 protein, human; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1