title: Brown adipose tissue and novel therapeutic approaches to treat metabolic disorders.
abstract: In humans, 2 functionally different types of adipose tissue coexist: white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT). WAT is involved in energy storage, whereas BAT is involved in energy expenditure. Increased amounts of WAT may contribute to the development of metabolic disorders, such as obesity-associated type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, the thermogenic function of BAT allows high consumption of fatty acids because of the activity of uncoupling protein 1 in the internal mitochondrial membrane. Interestingly, obesity reduction and insulin sensitization have been achieved by BAT activation-regeneration in animal models. This review describes the origin, function, and differentiation mechanisms of BAT to identify new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of metabolic disorders related to obesity. On the basis of the animal studies, novel approaches for BAT regeneration combining stem cells from the adipose tissue with active components, such as melatonin, may have potential for the treatment of metabolic disorders in humans.
authors.affiliation: Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute (IBIMER), Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Tissue Engineering Group, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Sabiniano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Neurosciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Hospitals Unversity/University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agil
authors.affiliation: Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute (IBIMER), Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Macarena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peran
authors.affiliation: Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute (IBIMER), Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alvaro-Galue
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Ojeda
authors.affiliation: Hospital University La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gumersindo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernández-Vázquez
authors.affiliation: Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine Institute (IBIMER), Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Hospitals Unversity/University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: jmarchal@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marchal
mesh_terms: D052437:Adipocytes, Brown / Q000502:physiology; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*