Castro Érique, Silva Tiago E Oliveira, Festuccia William T
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Horm Mol Biol Clin Investig. 2017 Sep 1;31(2):/j/hmbci.2017.31.issue-2/hmbci-2017-0042/hmbci-2017-0042.xml. doi: 10.1515/hmbci-2017-0042.
Beige (or brite, "brown in white") adipocytes are uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)-positive cells residing in white adipose depots that, depending on the conditions, behave either as classic white adipocytes, storing energy as lipids, or as brown adipocytes, dissipating energy from oxidative metabolism as heat through non-shivering thermogenesis. Because of their thermogenic potential and, therefore, possible usage to treat metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, beige cells have attracted the attention of many scientists worldwide aiming to develop strategies to safely recruit and activate their thermogenic activity. Indeed, in recent years, a large variety of conditions, molecules (including nutrients) and signaling pathways were reported to promote the recruitment of beige adipocytes. Despite of those advances, the true contribution of beige adipocyte thermogenesis to whole-body energy expenditure is still not completely defined. Herein, we discuss some important aspects that should be considered when studying beige adipocyte biology and the contribution to energy balance and whole-body metabolism.
米色（或brite，“白色中的棕色”）脂肪细胞是存在于白色脂肪库中的解偶联蛋白1（UCP1）阳性细胞，根据不同情况，它们既可以作为经典的白色脂肪细胞，将能量以脂质形式储存，也可以作为棕色脂肪细胞，通过非颤抖性产热将氧化代谢产生的能量以热量形式散发。由于其产热潜力以及因此可能用于治疗肥胖和2型糖尿病等代谢性疾病，米色细胞已吸引了全球众多科学家的关注，他们致力于开发安全募集和激活其产热活性的策略。事实上，近年来，据报道多种条件、分子（包括营养素）和信号通路可促进米色脂肪细胞的募集。尽管有这些进展，但米色脂肪细胞产热对全身能量消耗的真正贡献仍未完全明确。在此，我们讨论在研究米色脂肪细胞生物学及其对能量平衡和全身代谢的贡献时应考虑的一些重要方面。
