Energy dissipation in brown adipose tissue: from mice to men

In rodents, brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a metabolic organ that produces heat in response to cold and dietary intake through mitochondrial uncoupling. For long time, BAT was considered to be solely important in small mammals and infants, however recent studies have shown that BAT is also functional in adult humans. Interestingly, the presence and/or functionality of this thermogenic tissue is diminished in obese people, suggesting a link between human BAT and body weight regulation. In the last years, evidence has also emerged for the existence of adipocytes that may have an intermediate thermogenic phenotype between white and brown adipocytes, so called brite or beige adipocytes. Together, these findings have resulted in a renewed interested in (human) brown adipose tissue and pathways to increase the activity and recruitment of these thermogenic cells. Stimulating BAT hypertrophy and hyperplasia in humans could be a potential strategy to target obesity. Here we will review suggested pathways leading to BAT activation in humans, and discuss novel putative BAT activators in rodents into human perspective.