Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has evolved as a unique thermogenic organ that allows placental mammals to withstand cold environmental temperatures through the dissipation of metabolic energy in the form of heat. Although traditionally believed to be lost shortly after birth, metabolically active BAT depots have recently been identified in a large percentage of human adults. Besides classical brown cells, a distinct type of thermogenic adipocytes named beige or brite (brown in white) cells are recruited in white adipose tissue depots under specific stimuli. Given the well-known energy-dissipating properties of thermogenic adipose tissue and its function of metabolic sink for glucose and lipids, this tissue has attracted considerable research interest as a possible target for treating obesity and metabolic disease. The complex network of interorgan connections that regulate BAT and brite tissue mass and function is a major hurdle for the development of therapeutic strategies against metabolic disorders. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on the regulation of BAT and brite adipose tissue function. The possibility of targeting these tissues to treat obesity and other metabolic disorders is also discussed.
Keywords: adipokines; adiposity; beige cells; bone morphogenetic protein (BMP); brite adipose tissue; brown adipose tissue (BAT); cold exposure; diabetes mellitus; energy metabolism; fibroblast growth factor (FGF); inflammation; insulin resistance; mitochondrial respiration; natriuretic peptide; obesity; positron emission tomography (PET); sympathicomimetics; thermogenesis; thermoregulation; thyroid hormone receptor; thyroid hormones; uncoupling protein; uncoupling protein (UCP); weight loss; white adipose tissue (WAT).