Park Anna, Kim Won Kon, Bae Kwang-Hee
Anna Park, Won Kon Kim, Kwang-Hee Bae, Research Center for Integrated Cellulomics, KRIBB, Daejeon 305-806, South Korea.
World J Stem Cells. 2014 Jan 26;6(1):33-42. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v6.i1.33.
Adipose tissue is a major metabolic organ, and it has been traditionally classified as either white adipose tissue (WAT) or brown adipose tissue (BAT). WAT and BAT are characterized by different anatomical locations, morphological structures, functions, and regulations. WAT and BAT are both involved in energy balance. WAT is mainly involved in the storage and mobilization of energy in the form of triglycerides, whereas BAT specializes in dissipating energy as heat during cold- or diet-induced thermogenesis. Recently, brown-like adipocytes were discovered in WAT. These brown-like adipocytes that appear in WAT are called beige or brite adipocytes. Interestingly, these beige/brite cells resemble white fat cells in the basal state, but they respond to thermogenic stimuli with increased levels of thermogenic genes and increased respiration rates. In addition, beige/brite cells have a gene expression pattern distinct from that of either white or brown fat cells. The current epidemic of obesity has increased the interest in studying adipocyte formation (adipogenesis), especially in beige/brite cells. This review summarizes the developmental process of adipose tissues that originate from the mesenchymal stem cells and the features of these three different types of adipocytes.
脂肪组织是一个主要的代谢器官，传统上它被分为白色脂肪组织（WAT）或棕色脂肪组织（BAT）。白色脂肪组织和棕色脂肪组织具有不同的解剖位置、形态结构、功能及调控特点。白色脂肪组织和棕色脂肪组织都参与能量平衡。白色脂肪组织主要以甘油三酯的形式参与能量的储存和动员，而棕色脂肪组织则专门在寒冷或饮食诱导的产热过程中以热量的形式消耗能量。最近，在白色脂肪组织中发现了类棕色脂肪细胞。这些出现在白色脂肪组织中的类棕色脂肪细胞被称为米色或亮细胞。有趣的是，这些米色/亮细胞在基础状态下类似于白色脂肪细胞，但它们对产热刺激的反应是产热基因水平增加和呼吸速率提高。此外，米色/亮细胞具有与白色或棕色脂肪细胞不同的基因表达模式。当前肥胖症的流行增加了对研究脂肪细胞形成（脂肪生成）的兴趣，特别是对米色/亮细胞的研究。这篇综述总结了源自间充质干细胞的脂肪组织的发育过程以及这三种不同类型脂肪细胞的特征。
