title: Common and distinct regulation of human and mouse brown and beige adipose tissues: a promising therapeutic target for obesity.
abstract: Obesity, which underlies various metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, is a growing public health challenge for which established therapies are inadequate. Given the current obesity epidemic, there is a pressing need for more novel therapeutic strategies that will help adult individuals to manage their weight. One promising therapeutic intervention for reducing obesity is to enhance energy expenditure. Investigations into human brown fat and the recently discovered beige/brite fat have galvanized intense research efforts during the past decade because of their pivotal roles in energy dissipation. In this review, we summarize the evolution of human brown adipose tissue (hBAT) research and discuss new in vivo methodologies for evaluating energy expenditure in patients. We highlight the differences between human and mouse BAT by integrating and comparing their cellular morphology, function, and gene expression profiles. Although great advances in hBAT biology have been achieved in the past decade, more cellular models are needed to acquire a better understanding of adipose-specific processes and molecular mechanisms. Thus, this review also describes the development of a human brown fat cell line, which could provide promising mechanistic insights into hBAT function, signal transduction, and development. Finally, we focus on the therapeutic potential and current limitations of hBAT as an anti-glycemic, anti-lipidemic, and weight loss-inducing 'metabolic panacea'.
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, Metabolic Syndrome Research Center of Central South University, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
authors.forename: Xuejiao
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5467-8106
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cervantes
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, Metabolic Syndrome Research Center of Central South University, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China. liuf@uthscsa.edu.|Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA. liuf@uthscsa.edu.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5098-1711
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000069796:Adipose Tissue, Beige / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy
keywords: energy metabolism; human brown adipose tissue; obesity