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Studying Brown Adipose Tissue in a Human in vitro Context.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Samuelson, Isabella  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8395-3090
Vidal-Puig, Antonio  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4220-9577

Abstract

New treatments for obesity and associated metabolic disease are increasingly warranted with the growth of the obesity pandemic. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) may represent a promising therapeutic target to treat obesity, as this tissue has been shown to regulate energy expenditure through non-shivering thermogenesis. Three different strategies could be employed for therapeutic targeting of human thermogenic adipocytes: increasing BAT mass through stimulation of BAT progenitors, increasing BAT function through regulatory pathways, and increasing WAT browning through promotion of beige adipocyte formation. However, these strategies require deeper understanding of human brown and beige adipocytes. While murine studies have greatly increased our understanding of BAT, it is becoming clear that human BAT does not exactly resemble that of the mouse, highlighting the need for human in vitro models of brown adipocytes. Several different human brown adipocyte models will be discussed here, along with the potential to improve brown adipocyte culture through recreation of the BAT microenvironment.

Description

Keywords

3D culture, HPSC model, beige adipocyte, brown adipogenesis, brown adipose tissue (BAT), human adipocytes, obesity, thermogenic adipocyte differentiation, Adipocytes, Brown, Adipose Tissue, Brown, Energy Metabolism, Humans, In Vitro Techniques, Thermogenesis

Journal Title

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1664-2392
1664-2392

Volume Title

11

Publisher

Frontiers Media SA
Sponsorship
British Heart Foundation (None)
European Research Council (669879)
Wellcome Trust (109153/Z/15/Z)
MRC (MC_UU_00014/2)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/2)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12012)