In vitro brown and "brite"/"beige" adipogenesis: human cellular models and molecular aspects

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has long been thought to be absent or very scarce in human adults so that its contribution to energy expenditure was not considered as relevant. The recent discovery of thermogenic BAT in human adults opened the field for innovative strategies to combat overweight/obesity and associated diseases. This energy-dissipating function of BAT is responsible for adaptive thermogenesis in response to cold stimulation. In this context, adipocytes can be converted, within white adipose tissue (WAT), into multilocular adipocytes expressing UCP1, a mitochondrial protein that plays a key role in heat production by uncoupling the activity of the respiratory chain from ATP synthesis. These adipocytes have been named "brite" or "beige" adipocytes. Whereas BAT has been studied for a long time in murine models both in vivo and in vitro, there is now a strong demand for human cellular models to validate and/or identify critical factors involved in the induction of a thermogenic program within adipocytes. In this review we will discuss the different human cellular models described in the literature and what is known regarding the regulation of their differentiation and/or activation process. In addition, the role of microRNAs as novel regulators of brown/"brite" adipocyte differentiation and conversion will be depicted. Finally, investigation of both the conversion and the metabolism of white-to-brown converted adipocytes is required for the development of therapeutic strategies targeting overweight/obesity and associated diseases. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Brown and White Fat: From Signaling to Disease.