Kiefer Florian W
Clinical Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18 - 20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Aug;30(4):479-485. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2016.09.003. Epub 2016 Sep 12.
The view of adipose tissue as solely a fat storing organ has changed significantly over the past two decades with the discoveries of numerous adipocyte-secreted factors, so called adipokines, and their endocrine functions throughout the body. The newest chapter added to this story is the finding that adipose tissue is also a thermogenic organ contributing to energy expenditure through actions of specialized, heat-producing brown or beige adipocytes. In contrast to bone fide brown adipocytes, beige cells develop within white fat depots in response to various stimuli such as prolonged cold exposure, underscoring the great thermogenic plasticity of adipose tissue. The energy dissipating properties of beige and/or brown adipocytes hold great promise as a novel therapeutic concept against obesity and related complications. Hence, identifying the specific thermogenic adipocyte populations in humans and their pathways of activation are key milestones of current metabolism research. Here we will discuss the recent advances in the understanding of the molecular and physiological mechanisms of adipose tissue browning.
在过去二十年中，随着众多脂肪细胞分泌因子（即所谓的脂肪因子）及其在全身的内分泌功能被发现，脂肪组织仅仅是一个储存脂肪的器官这一观点已发生了显著变化。这个故事最新增加的篇章是发现脂肪组织也是一个产热器官，通过特殊的产热棕色或米色脂肪细胞的作用来促进能量消耗。与真正的棕色脂肪细胞不同，米色细胞在白色脂肪库中因各种刺激（如长期冷暴露）而形成，这突出了脂肪组织巨大的产热可塑性。米色和/或棕色脂肪细胞的能量耗散特性作为对抗肥胖及相关并发症的一种新型治疗理念具有巨大潜力。因此，确定人类中特定的产热脂肪细胞群体及其激活途径是当前代谢研究的关键里程碑。在此，我们将讨论在理解脂肪组织褐变的分子和生理机制方面的最新进展。
