Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Corbett Family Hall 296, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
Eck Institute for Global Health, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame, Corbett Family Hall 296, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
J Physiol Anthropol. 2022 Apr 20;41(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s40101-022-00290-4.
Interest in human physiological responses to cold stress have seen a resurgence in recent years with a focus on brown adipose tissue (BAT), a mitochondria dense fat specialized for heat production. However, a majority of the work examining BAT has been conducted among temperate climate populations.
To expand our understanding of BAT thermogenesis in a cold climate population, we measured, using indirect calorimetry and thermal imaging, metabolic rate and body surface temperatures of BAT-positive and BAT-negative regions at room temperature, and mild cold exposure of resting participants from a small sample of reindeer herders (N = 22, 6 females) from sub-Arctic Finland.
We found that most herders experienced a significant mean 8.7% increase in metabolic rates, preferentially metabolized fatty acids, and maintained relatively warmer body surface temperatures at the supraclavicular region (known BAT location) compared to the sternum, which has no associated BAT. These results indicate that the herders in this sample exhibit active BAT thermogenesis in response to mild cold exposure.
This study adds to the rapidly growing body of work looking at the physiological and thermoregulatory significance of BAT and the important role it may play among cold stressed populations.
近年来，人们对人体对冷应激的生理反应产生了浓厚的兴趣，研究重点集中在棕色脂肪组织（BAT）上，这是一种专门用于产热的富含线粒体的脂肪组织。然而，大多数研究 BAT 的工作都是在温带气候人群中进行的。
为了更深入地了解寒冷气候人群中 BAT 的产热作用，我们使用间接量热法和热成像技术，测量了来自北极圈附近芬兰的 22 名（6 名女性）驯鹿牧民在室温下和轻度寒冷暴露时 BAT 阳性和 BAT 阴性区域的代谢率和体表面温度，以及休息参与者的代谢率和体表面温度。
我们发现，大多数牧民的代谢率显著增加了 8.7%，他们优先代谢脂肪酸，并在锁骨区域（已知的 BAT 位置）保持相对温暖的体表面温度，而胸骨则没有相关的 BAT，其体表面温度相对较低。这些结果表明，该样本中的牧民在受到轻度寒冷暴露时表现出活跃的 BAT 产热作用。
本研究增加了越来越多的研究工作，这些工作着眼于 BAT 的生理和体温调节意义，以及它在寒冷应激人群中可能发挥的重要作用。
