title: Brown and beige adipose tissues: phenotype and metabolic potential in mice and men.
abstract: With the recent rediscovery of brown fat in adult humans, our outlook on adipose tissue biology has undergone a paradigm shift. While we attempt to identify, recruit, and activate classic brown fat stores in humans, identification of beige fat has also raised the possibility of browning our white fat stores. Whether such transformation of human white fat depots can be achieved to enhance the whole body oxidative potential remains to be seen. Evidence to date, however, largely points toward a major oxidative role only for classic brown fat depots, at least in rodents. White fat stores seem to provide the main fuel for sustaining thermogenesis via lipolysis. Interestingly, molecular markers consistent with both classic brown and beige fat identity can be observed in human supraclavicular depot, thereby complicating the discussion on beige fat in humans. Here, we review the recent advances made in our understanding of brown and beige fat in humans and mice. We further provide an overview of their plausible physiological relevance to whole body energy metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Ville de Québec, Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Kanta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chechi
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Center , Maastricht , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Marken Lichtenbelt
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Ville de Québec, Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richard
mesh_terms: D000069796:Adipose Tissue, Beige / Q000378:metabolism*; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D012634:Bodily Secretions; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D022722:Thermogenesis
keywords: beige fat; brown fat; sympathetic nervous system; thermogenesis