Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Brain-adipose tissue cross talk.

Timothy J Bartness1, C Kay Song, Haifei Shi

  • 1Department of Biology, Neurobiology & Behavior Program, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 30302-4010, USA. bartness@gsu.edu

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
|May 10, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

From blueprint to build: Metal ions in peripheral nerve development and engineering regeneration.

Bioactive materials·2026
Same author

Genotypic variation in lead (Pb) accumulation dataset in sweetpotato flesh for 10 accessions from the United States of America.

Data in brief·2026
Same author

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) disrupt gut microbiome composition and metabolism in metabolic syndrome: Evidence from a host-free in vitro colonic model.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2025
Same author

cGAS-STING pathway modulation: A new hope for neural regeneration.

Neural regeneration research·2025
Same author

Inhalable Ce Nanozyme-Backpacked Phage Aims at Ischemic Cerebral Injury by M1-Microglia Hitchhiking.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2025
Same author

Tryptophan and Its Metabolite Serotonin Impact Metabolic and Mental Disorders via the Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis: A Focus on Sex Differences.

Cells·2025
Same journal

Nutritional and dietary drivers in the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis: the nutrition-microbiome-genetic axis.

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
Same journal

Redistributing power in food systems: How community-led responses move from crisis buffering to systems transformation.

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
Same journal

Using positive social influences to increase children's vegetable intake.

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
Same journal

Combining sequence-based approaches with anaerobic microbiology and modelling to understand gut microbial communities.

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
Same journal

Misled or misfed: Nutrition claims targeting active females on social media, is there research evidence to support them?

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
Same journal

Whole-body metabolic modelling and its prospects in precision nutrition.

The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society·2026
See all related articles

The sympathetic nervous system directly innervates white adipose tissue (WAT), regulating fat mobilization and cell proliferation. Sensory nerves in WAT signal body fat levels to the brain, influencing overall energy balance.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Adipose Tissue Biology
  • Metabolic Regulation

Background:

  • White adipose tissue (WAT) plays a crucial role in energy homeostasis.
  • The neural regulation of WAT function, particularly concerning seasonal obesity, remains incompletely understood.
  • Investigating the innervation of WAT is key to understanding lipid metabolism and fat storage.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the roles of sympathetic, sensory, and parasympathetic nervous system innervation in white adipose tissue.
  • To define the neural pathways controlling lipolysis and fat cell proliferation in WAT.
  • To investigate the contribution of WAT innervation to the regulation of body fat levels.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized retrograde transneuronal tract tracing with pseudorabies virus (PRV) to map sympathetic nervous system (SNS) outflow to WAT.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Employed anterograde and retrograde tract tracers to demonstrate direct SNS postganglionic innervation of WAT.
  • Used capsaicin to selectively destroy sensory innervation of WAT and assessed compensatory lipid accretion.
  • Investigated parasympathetic innervation by examining vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) immunoreactivity in WAT.

    • Main Results:

    • Demonstrated direct sympathetic nervous system (SNS) postganglionic innervation of white adipose tissue (WAT), primarily involved in lipid mobilization.
    • Identified SNS outflow neurons co-localized with melanocortin-4 receptor mRNA, suggesting a role in lipolysis.
    • Showed that SNS innervation regulates fat cell number, with noradrenaline inhibiting proliferation and denervation stimulating it.
    • Provided evidence for sensory innervation of WAT, with denervation triggering compensatory lipid accretion in other WAT depots, indicating a role in signaling body fat levels.
    • Found no evidence for parasympathetic innervation of WAT, as indicated by the absence of VAChT immunoreactivity.

    Conclusions:

    • Sympathetic and sensory nervous systems play significant roles in regulating white adipose tissue (WAT) function, including lipid metabolism and fat cell proliferation.
    • Sensory nerves in WAT appear to convey information about body fat levels to the brain, contributing to overall energy balance regulation.
    • The findings collectively suggest that efferent and afferent neural innervation of WAT are critical components of body fat regulation.