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Neuronal Control of Adaptive Thermogenesis
1Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT , USA ; Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT , USA ; Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT , USA.
Frontiers in Endocrinology
|October 7, 2015
Summary
Obesity is a growing health crisis. This review explores how brown and beige fat cells, regulated by the brain, can burn energy and combat obesity.
Area of Science:
- Metabolic disorders
- Adipose tissue biology
- Thermoregulation
Background:
- The global obesity epidemic persists despite interventions.
- White adipose tissue (WAT) dysfunction is central to obesity and metabolic disorders.
- Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige adipocytes offer a thermogenic counter-regulatory mechanism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the development, regulation, and function of thermogenic adipocytes (brown and beige cells).
- To explore the role of the central nervous system in controlling heat production and energy balance.
- To summarize the integration of sensory information in hypothalamic thermoregulation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent discoveries in adipose tissue and neurobiology.
- Analysis of the interplay between thermal, hormonal, and nutritional signals.
- Focus on hypothalamic circuits governing thermogenesis and energy homeostasis.
Main Results:
- Brown and beige adipocytes promote energy expenditure and combat obesity.
- The central nervous system, particularly hypothalamic circuits, plays a critical role in regulating thermogenesis.
- Integration of diverse physiological signals is key to maintaining energy balance.
Conclusions:
- Targeting brown and beige adipocyte development and activation presents a promising therapeutic avenue for obesity.
- Understanding central nervous system regulation of thermogenesis is crucial for developing effective obesity treatments.
- Further research into hypothalamic circuits offers potential for novel metabolic disorder therapies.
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