title: Implications of thermogenic adipose tissues for metabolic health.
abstract: Excess and ectopic fat accumulation in obesity is a major risk factor for developing hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The activation of brown and/or beige adipocytes is a promising target for the treatment of metabolic disorders as the combustion of excess energy by these thermogenic adipocytes may help losing weight and improving plasma parameters including triglyceride, cholesterol and glucose levels. The regulation of heat production by thermogenic adipose tissues is based on a complex crosstalk between the autonomous nervous system, intracellular and secreted factors. This multifaceted alignment regulates thermogenic demands to environmental circumstances in dependence on available energy resources. This review summarizes the current knowledge how thermogenic tissues can be targeted to combat the burden of diseases with a special focus on lipid metabolism and diseases related to lipoprotein metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: c.schlein@uke.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlein
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: heeren@uke.de.
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heeren
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D022722:Thermogenesis; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008074:Lipoproteins; D014280:Triglycerides; D005947:Glucose
keywords: BAT regulation; beige adipocytes; brown adipocytes; brown adipose tissue; lipoprotein metabolism; triglycerides