Brown fat thermogenesis: Stability of developmental programming and transient effects of temperature and gut microbiota in adults

Abstract

Evidence from animal studies continues to document the effectiveness of brown fat based thermogenesis in stimulating energy expenditure to reduce obesity. Evidence shows that the number of brown adipocytes in white fat is determined by developmental mechanisms, not the environment. The large variability in the capacity for brown fat thermogenesis comes from genetic variability in developmental mechanisms extent in the animal. This genetic variability ultimately drives the capacity for induction of the brown adipocyte phenotype in response to environmental signals in adult animals. We highlight recent studies that suggest a role for gut microbiota in the regulation of brown fat thermogenesis that is based, in part, upon the observation that bile acids can effectively induce thermogenesis by interscapular brown fat at thermoneutrality.