Whither brown fat?

Highly sensitive thermometer using a vacuum-packed Si resonator in a microfluidic chip for the thermal measurement of single cells

A highly sensitive thermometer system for a living cell is proposed, fabricated, and evaluated. The system possesses a resonant thermal sensor surrounded by vacuum in a microfluidic chip. The measurement principle relies on resonant frequency tracking of the resonator in temperature variations due to the heat from a sample cell; the heat is conducted from the sample cell in the microfluidic channel via a heat guide connecting the resonator to a sample stage. This configuration can reduce heat loss from the resonator to the surroundings and damping in water. Two types of resonators are prepared, i.e., a cantilevered resonator and a double-supported resonator. The resonator sizes as a sensor are 30 × 50 × 1.5 μm in the cantilevered resonator, 30 × 75 × 0.40 μm in the double-supported one, respectively. The temperature and thermal resolutions of 79 μK and 1.90 nW, respectively, are achieved using the double-supported resonator. Two types of heat emissions from single brown fat cells are detected; one is continuous heat generation in the presence of chemical stimulation by a norepinephrine solution, and the other is pulsed without any stimulation.

Unlock the Thermogenic Potential of Adipose Tissue: Pharmacological Modulation and Implications for Treatment of Diabetes and Obesity

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is considered an interesting target organ for the treatment of metabolic disease due to its high metabolic capacity. Non-shivering thermogenesis, once activated, can lead to enhanced partitioning and oxidation of fuels in adipose tissues, and reduce the burden of glucose and lipids on other metabolic organs such as liver, pancreas, and skeletal muscle. Sustained long-term activation of BAT may also lead to meaningful bodyweight loss. In this review, we discuss three different drug classes [the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of PPARγ agonists, β3-adrenergic receptor agonists, and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogs] that have been proposed to regulate BAT and beige recruitment or activation, or both, and which have been tested in both rodent and human. The learnings from these classes suggest that restoration of functional BAT and beige mass as well as improved activation might be required to fully realize the metabolic potential of these tissues. Whether this can be achieved without the undesired cardiovascular side effects exhibited by the TZD PPARγ agonists and β3-adrenergic receptor agonists remains to be resolved.

Brown adipose tissue in adult humans: a metabolic renaissance

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a key role in energy homeostasis and thermogenesis in animals, conferring protection against diet-induced obesity and hypothermia through the action of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Recent metabolic imaging studies using positron emission tomography computerized tomography (PET-CT) scanning have serendipitously revealed significant depots of BAT in the cervical-supraclavicular regions, demonstrating persistence of BAT beyond infancy. Subsequent cold-stimulated PET-CT studies and direct histological examination of adipose tissues have demonstrated that BAT is highly prevalent in adult humans. BAT activity correlates positively with increment of energy expenditure during cold exposure and negatively with age, body mass index, and fasting glycemia, suggesting regulatory links between BAT, cold-induced thermogenesis, and energy metabolism. Human BAT tissue biopsies express UCP1 and harbor inducible precursors that differentiate into UCP1-expressing adipocytes in vitro. These recent discoveries represent a metabolic renaissance for human adipose biology, overturning previous belief that BAT had no relevance in adult humans. They also have implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity and its metabolic sequelae.

Brown adipocytes of sucrose-overfed rats treated with corticosterone: A stereological and ultrastructural study

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of short-term corticosterone treatment on brown adipo?cytes of rats overfed with sucrose. Ultrastructural and stereological analysis showed that brown adipocyte components responded to the applied treatment in conformity with their own dynamics and affinity. Although brown adipocytes generally corresponded to thermogenically active cells, some signs of supression of that function, such as mitochondrial degradation and a pattern of lipid accumulation, were noticeable. Taken together, the presented results indicate that a high carbohydrate diet delays the expected inhibitory influence of corticosterone on brown adipose tissue thermogenesis. For the full expression of corticosterone effects, longer treatment is needed.

Mechanisms of cachexia induced by T-cell leukemia in the rat

Body wasting (cachexia) is a common feature of cancer and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms underlying cachexia are largely unknown, and studies in experimental animals have focused mainly on solid tumors. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to quantify and investigate cachexia in experimentally induced T-cell leukemia in the rat. Induction of leukemia by serial passage (injection of cervical lymph node suspension) resulted in a rapid increase in white blood cell (WBC count, hypertrophy of the spleen (by day 11), and severe morbidity within 17 to 18 days. Body weight gain and food intake declined steadily in leukemic animals from day 12, although weight loss was significantly greater in pair-fed, nonleukemic animals. However, leukemic rats had a lower body fat content and higher water content than pair-fed animals on day 18, so the measurement of body weight significantly underestimated the severity of cachexia. Resting oxygen consumption (VO2), measured during the light phase, declined in pair-fed animals from day 13, but was elevated in leukemic rats on days 12 to 18 by 25% (P < .05, one-way ANOVA) compared with pair-fed rats and by 7% (P < .05, one-way ANOVA) relative to free-feeding controls. Hypermetabolism was associated with an increase in brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity (74% and 89%, respectively, P < .05, one-way ANOVA) in leukemic rats compared with control and pair-fed groups. Effects of leukemia on VO2 and BAT were prevented by administration of the adrenergic antagonist, propranolol. These results indicate that T-cell leukemia in the rat results in rapid and severe cachexia, which is largely due to marked hypophagia, but is also accompanied by inappropriately high rates of energy expenditure that are mediated by sympathetic activation of BAT thermogenesis.

Anti-lymphoproliferative activity of brown adipose tissue of hibernating ground squirrels is mainly caused by AMP

A fraction with mol wt < 1 kDa was obtained from the brown fat of hibernating ground squirrels (Citellus undulatus) by means of delipidization, acid extraction, ultracentrifugation and ultrafiltration. This fraction suppressed the proliferation of mouse lymph node cells under standard mitogenic stimuli for T lymphocytes. In contrast, the fraction with mol wt < 1 kDa obtained from the brown fat of active ground squirrels in spring did not display such activity. Further HPLC purification of the biologically active fraction and chemical and structural analysis of its most potent antilymphoproliferative component revealed that this is adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP). These data lend support to the notion that in hibernating mammals AMP originating, at least partly, from the brown fat down-regulates the seasonally-dependent proliferation of the thymus.

Histopathological changes in simian immunodeficiency virus infection

The histological lesions were studied in seven rhesus and three cynomolgus monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus for periods ranging from nine weeks to 18 months. Lymphoreticular changes included hyperplasia, follicular involution and depletion, and one animal had amyloidosis of the spleen. Hyperplastic changes also took place in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and infiltrations occurred in the vaginal mucosa of one animal, which could be significant in sexual transmission of the infection. The range of opportunistic infections was small compared with that in human AIDS patients, although two monkeys had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Enterocolitis was a common finding and brown adipose tissue was transformed into a large vacuolated type. Lesions of the central nervous system were found in five of nine monkeys, and consisted of foci of glial activity and perivascular and meningeal lymphocytic infiltration. A lymphoma involving the lumbar spinal cord developed in one animal.

Bacterial infection (Legionella pneumophila) stimulates fever, metabolic rate and brown adipose tissue activity in the guinea pig

The objective of this study was to assess whether bacterial infection stimulates oxygen consumption and brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity. Guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila showed marked fever and a significant (33%) increase in resting oxygen consumption (VO2), 24h after infection. At this time, food intake and body weight were normal and the in vitro thermogenic activity of BAT taken from infected animals was elevated by 64% above that of control guinea pigs. VO2 and BAT activity fell to control values by 48h as infected animals became moribund and over this period food intake was markedly reduced.

Involvement of sympathetic nervous system and brown fat in endotoxin-induced fever in rats

The object of this study was to assess the role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and the sympathetic nervous system in the rise in heat production associated with endotoxin-induced fever. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was found to be significantly increased (28%) over a 4-h period after two doses of endotoxin (Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, 0.3 mg/100 g body wt) given 24 h apart. Injection of a mixed beta-adrenoceptor antagonist (propranolol) reduced VO2 by 14% in endotoxin-treated rats, whereas the selective beta 1- (atenolol) or beta 2- (ICI 118551) antagonists suppressed VO2 by 10%. These drugs did not affect VO2 in control animals. BAT thermogenic activity assessed from measurements of in vitro mitochondrial guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP) binding was elevated by 54% in interscapular BAT and by 171% in other BAT depots. Surgical denervation of one lobe of the interscapular depot prevented these responses. Endotoxin failed to stimulate GDP binding in rats fed protein-deficient diets. This may have been because BAT thermogenic activity was already elevated in control rats fed these diets or because endotoxin caused a marked suppression of food intake in the protein-deficient animals. The results indicate that sympathetic activation of BAT is involved in the thermogenic responses to endotoxin and that these can be modified by dietary manipulation.

Motility, heat, and lactate production in ejaculated bovine sperm

Effects of various inhibitors on motility, heat, and lactate production of ejaculated bovine sperm were determined in the presence of antimycin A and rotenone. erythro-9-[3-(2-Hydroxynonyl)]adenine (EHNA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP-360) stopped motility and reduced heat or lactate production by 30-50%. Carbodiimides resulted in loss of motility and a reduction of metabolism by 60-75%. Quercetin treatment, which enhanced rather than inhibited motility, depressed heat and lactate production by 50-60%. Since mechanical immobilization reduced heat production by only 30%, the question arises as to what other cellular processes are major contributors to the energy budget. Inhibitors of ion flux had little-to-no effect on heat or lactate production, suggesting that neither mitochondrial nor Na+/K+ ATPases were major ATP-requiring processes. Calcium flux at the plasma membrane also was minimal and previous reports eliminated glycolytic substrate cycling as major consuming processes for ATP. Although quercetin inhibited lactate production in intact cells, no effect of quercetin on cell-free glycolysis and the ATPase activities of isolated dynein was detected. Quercetin did, however, inhibit ATPase activity of plasma membrane, suggesting that this unidentified ATPase may contribute to the formation of ADP and Pi required for lactate production by the intact cell. We propose (a) that the bioenergetic costs of motility are divided between regulatory events and dynein-microtubule interaction (dynein ATPase), (b) that some of the membrane-related processes may be "inefficient," and (c) that quercetin may render these steps more "efficient," in a manner analogous to its action on the Na+/K+ pump of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

Effects of repeated cycles of fasting-refeeding on brown adipose tissue composition in mice

Mice fasted for 24 h showed reductions in carcass fat and gonadal fat depots and atrophy of brown adipose tissue (BAT) that was characterized by loss of protein and succinate dehydrogenase. These changes were reversed on 24 h of refeeding. Cycling mice experienced 14 cycles of 1 day of fast followed by 2 days of refeeding, whereas control mice were fed ad libitum. Weight loss during each fast remained constant, and the animals lost and regained in excess of twice their initial weights within 6 wk. However, final weight and carcass and gonadal fat weights were similar to those of animals fed ad libitum. Total food intake was similar between cycling mice and those fed ad libitum suggesting an increase in feeding efficiency. There was no development of resistance to food deprivation since the preceding fasting experience of the animal had no effect on weight and carcass fat loss during a 24- or 48-h fast. Norepinephrine-stimulated oxygen consumption that was reduced in cycling mice was probably the result of a reduction of BAT thermogenic capacity. BAT succinate dehydrogenase content and the concentration of uncoupling protein in isolated mitochondria were significantly reduced. These changes in BAT composition were not observed when the refeeding period of each cycle was increased to 6 days. These results suggest that reduced energy expenditure in BAT may play a role in the conservation of energy during intermittent and frequent bouts of food deprivation.

Adaptive changes in individual acyl-CoA esters from hamster BAT during cold acclimation

Long-chain fatty acyl-CoA esters (LCFACoAE) were extracted from freeze-clamped powdered brown adipose tissue (BAT) obtained from thermoneutral control and cold-acclimated hamsters and the CoA esters individually separated by high-performance liquid chromatography. LCFACoAE of carbon chain length C12 to C20 were identified by increasing column retention time in the following order: C12:0, C14:1, C14:0, C16:1, C18:2, C16:0, C18:1, C18:0, and C20:4. The mean total LCFACoAE concentrations were 235 +/- 40 nmol/g protein for the control hamsters and 648 +/- 105 nmol/g protein for the 22-day cold-acclimated hamsters. A rapid fourfold increase in the levels of C16:0, C18:0, and C18:1 occurred within hours after initiation of the cold temperature, whereas the concentrations of the other six LCFACoAE either increased only slightly or remained unchanged. Almost 50% of the total LCFACoAE in the BAT of cold-acclimated hamsters was made up of C16:0, C18:0, and C18:1. These results, which demonstrate some dynamic changes in adipose tissue LCFACoAE, are consistent with their proposed role in the initiation and maintenance of BAT thermogenesis.