Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2013 Jun;34(6):347-55. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2013.04.004. Epub 2013 May 3.
Biopsies following positron emission tomography coupled to computer tomography (PET-CT) imaging have confirmed the presence of thermogenically active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, leading to suggestions that it could be stimulated to treat obesity and its associated morbidities. The mechanisms regulating thermogenesis in BAT are better understood than ever before, and many new hypotheses for increasing the amount of brown fat or its activity are currently being explored. The challenge now is to identify safe ways to manipulate specific aspects of the physiological regulation of thermogenesis, in a manner that will be bioenergetically effective. This review outlines the nature of these regulatory mechanisms both in terms of their cellular specificity and probable effectiveness given the physiological paradigms in which thermogenesis is activated. Similarly, their potential for being targeted by new or existing drugs is discussed, drawing on the known mechanisms of action of various pharmacological agents and some probable limitations that should be considered.
正电子发射断层扫描与计算机断层扫描（PET-CT）成像后的活检证实了成人中存在产热棕色脂肪组织（BAT），这使得人们提出可以刺激其治疗肥胖及其相关的病态。BAT 中调节产热的机制比以往任何时候都更加清楚，并且目前正在探索许多增加棕色脂肪量或其活性的新假设。现在的挑战是确定安全的方法来以生物能量有效的方式操纵产热生理调节的特定方面。这篇综述概述了这些调节机制的性质，既包括其细胞特异性，也包括在激活产热的生理范例中可能的有效性。同样，也讨论了它们被新药或现有药物靶向的潜力，借鉴了各种药理制剂的已知作用机制和一些应该考虑的可能限制。
