From the *Department of Internal Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT; and †Department of Internal Medicine, New York Medical College, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY.
Cardiol Rev. 2013 Nov-Dec;21(6):265-9. doi: 10.1097/CRD.0b013e31829cabff.
It has been shown in rodents and newborn babies that brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in the generation of heat for maintenance of core body temperature. BAT is responsible for the process of adaptive thermogenesis, which involves heat generation in response to a drop in the environment's temperature or to high energy intake from diet. In rodents, the process of BAT thermogenesis is controlled by activation of the β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR), which has a protective effect against development of obesity. Previously, it was generally thought that in humans, BAT dissipated after childhood and adopted an insignificant role in human physiology. However, over the past few years, it has been discovered that adult humans still possess fully functional BAT. Through imaging with F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography scans, it has been determined that not only does human BAT exist, but also it is still responsive to stimuli, such as a drop in the environment's temperature. Although some evidence exists for β3-AR control of BAT thermogenesis in humans, this fact remains unclear due to a lack of highly selective β3-AR agonists and antagonists which have an effect on the human body. With further investigation on thermogenesis receptor control and effect of BAT metabolism on whole body energy expenditure, BAT may serve as a potential target for the treatment and prevention of obesity and other metabolic conditions in humans.
已经在啮齿动物和新生儿中表明，棕色脂肪组织（BAT）在产生热量以维持核心体温方面起着重要作用。BAT 负责适应产热过程，该过程涉及在环境温度下降或饮食中摄入高能量时产生热量。在啮齿动物中，BAT 产热过程受β3-肾上腺素能受体（β3-AR）的激活控制，该受体对肥胖的发展具有保护作用。以前，人们普遍认为在人类中，BAT 在儿童期后会消散，并且在人类生理学中作用不大。然而，在过去的几年中，已经发现成年人类仍然拥有功能齐全的 BAT。通过 F-氟脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描-计算机断层扫描成像，已经确定不仅人类 BAT 存在，而且它仍然对环境温度下降等刺激有反应。尽管有一些证据表明β3-AR 控制人类 BAT 产热，但由于缺乏对人体有影响的高选择性β3-AR 激动剂和拮抗剂，这一事实仍然不清楚。随着对产热受体控制和 BAT 代谢对全身能量消耗的影响的进一步研究，BAT 可能成为治疗和预防肥胖症和其他代谢疾病的潜在靶点。
