It is well established that aging is associated with metabolic dysfunction such as increased adiposity and impaired energy dissipation; however, the transcriptional mechanisms regulating energy balance during late life stages have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we show that ablation of the nuclear receptor PPARγ specifically in inguinal fat tissue in aging mice is associated with increase...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Capsaicin and its nonpungent analog (capsinoids) are known to be food ingredients that increase energy expenditure and decrease body fat. This article reviews the role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) for the thermogenic effect of these compounds in humans and proposes the possibility of some other antiobesity food ingredients. RECENT FINDINGS A single oral ingestion of capsino...

Expansion of visceral adipose tissue correlates with the metabolic syndrome and increased cardiovascular risk. Hypertrophied visceral fat becomes inflamed, causing increased lipolysis, decreased triglyceride storage, and lipotoxicity in skeletal muscle and liver resulting in insulin resistance. Perivascular adipose tissue is a normal component of the adventitia of arteries in humans and animals...

CONTEXT Men and women differ in body fat distribution and adipose tissue metabolism as well as in obesity comorbidities and their response to obesity treatment. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was a search for sex differences in adipose tissue function. DESIGN AND SETTING This was an exploratory study performed at a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Resting ...

(Hales, J. R. S., eds.), pp. 169-173, Raven Press, New York Nedergaard, J., Alexson, S. & Cannon, B. (1980) Am. J . Physiol. 239, C208Z2 16 Nedergaard, J., Connolly, E., NBnberg, E. & Mohell, N. (1984) Biochem. Soc. Trans. 12, 393-396 Nedergaard, J., Connolly, E. & Cannon, B. (1986) in Brown Adipose Tissue (Trayhurn, P. & Nicholls, D. G., eds.), Edward Arnold, London, in the press Raasmaja, A.,...

Interest in the biology of brown adipose tissue (BAT) has moved from the field of cold adaptation and cellular bioenergetics to the field of nutrition and obesity in recent years. This is mainly due to studies on BAT of ‘cafeteria-fed’ or obese rodents (Rothwell & Stock, 1979; Himms-Hagen, 1985; Trayhurn, 1986). In fact most studies on BAT have been focused on direct or indirect assay of the un...

Active brown adipose tissue is responsible for non-shivering thermogenesis in mammals which affects energy homeostasis. The molecular mechanisms underlying this activation as well as the formation and activation of brite adipocytes have gained increasing interest in recent years as they might be utilized to regulate systemic metabolism. We show here that the transcriptional regulators SRF and M...

White adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue play critical roles in controlling energy homeostasis and the development of obesity and diabetes. We isolated mouse white adipocytes from inguinal white fat tissues and brown adipocytes from interscapular brown fat tissues, and employed a variety of approaches, including immunofluorescent staining, quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting analy...

In mammals there are two types of adipocytes with opposing functions. Brown adipocytes are characterized by a high number of mitochondria and are specialized for heat production (thermogenesis), expressing thermogenic genes such as UCP1 (uncoupling protein 1). White adipocytes, on the other hand, store energy. Although many key regulators in the differentiation of white adipocytes have been est...