Brown Adipose Tissue Exhibits a Glucose-Responsive Thermogenic Biorhythm in Humans
Paul Lee1, Ron Bova2, Lynne Schofield3
1Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Department of Endocrinology, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Abstract:
High abundance of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is linked to lower glycaemia in humans, leading to the belief that BAT may protect against diabetes. The relationship between BAT glucose utilization and systemic glucose homeostasis has not been defined. In this paper we have characterized glycaemic excursions and BAT thermogenic responses in human brown adipocytes, BAT explants, and healthy adults through supraclavicular temperature profiling, revealing their circadian coupling in vivo and in vitro, orchestrated by UCP1, GLUT4, and Rev-erbα biorhythms. Extent of glycated haemoglobin also correlated positively with environmental temperature among community-dwelling patients. These data uncover potential crosstalk between BAT and glucose regulatory pathways, evident on cellular, tissue, individual, and population levels, and provide impetus to search for BAT harnessing strategies for therapeutic purposes.
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