Abstract
Obesity represents a major risk factor for the development of a number of metabolic disorders, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Since the discovery that brown and beige fat cells exist in adult humans and contribute to energy expenditure, increasing interest has been devoted to the understanding of the molecular switches turning on calorie utilization. It has been reported that the ability of thermogenic tissues to burn energy declines during aging, possibly contributing to the development of metabolic dysfunction late in life. This review will focus on the recently identified transcriptional modulators of brown and beige cells and will discuss the potential impact of some of these thermogenic factors on age-associated metabolic disorders.
Highlights
Obesity arises when the caloric input exceeds energy output
Brown fat tissue relies on UCP1, a mitochondrial protein that uncouples oxidative phosphorylation from ATP synthesis, generating mitochondrial proton leak leading to energy dissipation [3]
For a number of years, it had been suspected that an additional type of fat cells existed embedded within some of the white depots and thought to be responsible for the heterogeneous, mixed histological appearance observed after changes in ambient temperatures or in response to certain pharmacological stimuli; such elusive cells have been recently isolated in mice and called beige because of their intermediate functional characteristics between white and brown adipocytes [4]
Summary
Genetics of Development and Disease Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Obesity represents a major risk factor for the development of a number of metabolic disorders, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Since the discovery that brown and beige fat cells exist in adult humans and contribute to energy expenditure, increasing interest has been devoted to the understanding of the molecular switches turning on calorie utilization. It has been reported that the ability of thermogenic tissues to burn energy declines during aging, possibly contributing to the development of metabolic dysfunction late in life. This review will focus on the recently identified transcriptional modulators of brown and beige cells and will discuss the potential impact of some of these thermogenic factors on age-associated metabolic disorders
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