Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, One Joslin Place, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA.
Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2010 Apr;17(2):143-9. doi: 10.1097/MED.0b013e328337a81f.
Human fat consists of white and brown adipose tissue (WAT and BAT). Though most fat is energy-storing WAT, the thermogenic capacity of even small amounts of BAT makes it an attractive therapeutic target for inducing weight loss through energy expenditure. This review evaluates the recent discoveries regarding the identification of functional BAT in adult humans and its potential as a therapy for obesity and diabetes.
Over the past year, several independent research teams used a combination of positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging, immunohistochemistry, and gene and protein expression assays to prove conclusively that adult humans have functional BAT. This has occurred against a backdrop of basic studies defining the origins of BAT, new components of its transcriptional regulation, and the role of hormones in stimulation of BAT growth and differentiation.
Adult humans have functional BAT, a new target for antiobesity and antidiabetes therapies focusing on increasing energy expenditure. Future studies will refine the methodologies used to measure BAT mass and activity, expand our knowledge of critical-control points in BAT regulation, and focus on testing pharmacological agents that increase BAT thermogenesis and help achieve long-lasting weight loss and an improved metabolic profile.
人体脂肪由白色和棕色脂肪组织（WAT 和 BAT）组成。虽然大多数脂肪是储存能量的 WAT，但即使少量的 BAT 也具有产热能力，这使其成为通过能量消耗诱导体重减轻的有吸引力的治疗靶点。本综述评估了最近关于在成年人体内鉴定功能性 BAT 的发现，以及其作为肥胖和糖尿病治疗的潜力。
在过去的一年中，几个独立的研究小组使用正电子发射断层扫描和计算机断层扫描（PET/CT）成像、免疫组织化学以及基因和蛋白质表达分析的组合，明确证明了成年人体内存在功能性 BAT。这是在基础研究定义 BAT 的起源、其转录调节的新成分以及激素在刺激 BAT 生长和分化中的作用的背景下发生的。
成年人体内存在功能性 BAT，这是一种针对抗肥胖和抗糖尿病治疗的新靶点，其重点是增加能量消耗。未来的研究将完善用于测量 BAT 质量和活性的方法，扩展我们对 BAT 调节关键控制点的认识，并专注于测试增加 BAT 产热的药物，以帮助实现持久的体重减轻和改善代谢特征。
