Klaus S
Deutsches Institut für Ernährungsforschung (DIfE), Bergholz Rehbrücke, Germany.
Bioessays. 1997 Mar;19(3):215-23. doi: 10.1002/bies.950190307.
Adipose tissue plays an important role in mammalian energy equilibrium not only as a lipid-dissipating, i.e. energy-storing, tissue (white adipose tissue), but also as an energy-dissipating one (brown adipose tissue). Brown adipocytes have the ability of facultative heat production due to a unique mitochondrial protein, the uncoupling protein (UCP). Differentiation of white and (to a lesser extent) brown adipocytes has been studied in different cell culture systems, which has led to the identification of external inducers, second messenger pathways and transcription factors involved in adipocyte differentiation. Functional differentiation of white adipocytes implies adipose conversion, whereas in brown adipocytes it insinuates additionally the development of a thermogenic function. This review discusses recent advances in the elucidation of the pathways responsible for, and the molecular bases of, adipose conversion on the one hand and development of the thermogenic properties of brown adipocytes on the other.
脂肪组织在哺乳动物能量平衡中发挥着重要作用，它不仅作为一种脂质消耗即能量储存的组织（白色脂肪组织），还作为一种能量消耗的组织（棕色脂肪组织）。由于一种独特的线粒体蛋白——解偶联蛋白（UCP），棕色脂肪细胞具有兼性产热的能力。白色脂肪细胞和（在较小程度上）棕色脂肪细胞的分化已在不同的细胞培养系统中进行了研究，这使得参与脂肪细胞分化的外部诱导剂、第二信使途径和转录因子得以确定。白色脂肪细胞的功能分化意味着脂肪转化，而在棕色脂肪细胞中，它还意味着产热功能的发展。本综述一方面讨论了在阐明脂肪转化的途径及其分子基础方面的最新进展，另一方面讨论了棕色脂肪细胞产热特性发展的最新进展。
