title: Adipocyte transdifferentiation and its molecular targets.
abstract: According to the World Health Organization obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat, which increases risk of other metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc. There are two types of adipose tissue, white and brown adipose tissue (BAT) and the latter has recently gathered interest of the scientific community. Discovery of BAT has opened avenues for a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic syndrome. BAT utilizes accumulated fatty acids for energy expenditure; hence it is seen as one of the possible alternates to the current treatment. Moreover, browning of white adipocyte on exposure to cold, as well as with some of the pharmacological agents presents exciting outcomes and indicates the feasibility of transdifferentiation. A better understanding of molecular pathways and differentiation factors, those that play a key role in transdifferentiation are of extreme importance in designing novel strategies for the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-CDRI, India.
authors.forename: Sujith
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India.
authors.forename: Muheeb
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beg
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India.
authors.forename: Kripa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-CDRI, India.
authors.forename: Ankita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India.
authors.forename: Salil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varshney
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-CDRI, India.
authors.forename: Durgesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226031 UP, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-CDRI, India. Electronic address: anil_gaikwad@cdri.res.in.
authors.forename: Anil Nilkanth
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
mesh_terms: D052438:Adipocytes, White / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000071248:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha; D015398:Signal Transduction; D022722:Thermogenesis; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C486497:PPARGC1A protein, human; C416371:PRDM16 protein, human; D000071248:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: Brown adipocyte; PGC1α; PRDM16; Paucilocular adipocyte; Thermogenesis; Transdifferentiation