From brown to white: Brown adipose tissue endothelial cells whiten in culture conditions
Elschner T., Grein S., Sander J., Hildebrand S., Heubach L., Pannwitz N.
Animal Study, published in Mol Metab (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Animal Study
- Journal
- Mol Metab (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41831567
- PMCID
- PMC13049445
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.molmet.2026.102349
Abstract (original English)
Endothelial cells (ECs) are central regulators of vascular and metabolic homeostasis, yet their organ- and depot-specific diversity remains underexplored. Two major types of adipose tissue (AT) can be distinguished that differ substantially in their physiological function and vascularization: white AT (WAT), which is the major energy storage and brown AT (BAT), which is highly vascularized and dissipates energy [1-5]. While ECs from these depots likely contribute to adipose function, their characterization has been hindered by technical limitations in isolation and culture. Here, we establish a protocol for isolating and expanding ECs from murine BAT and WAT, enabling transcriptomic and functional analyses across depots. We demonstrate that freshly isolated BAT-ECs express depot-enriched gene signatures, including Rgcc, Cdkn1c, Tcf15, Meox2, and Efnb1, several of which are dynamically regulated during cold-induced BAT activation. These findings reveal novel BAT-EC markers and highlight specialized endothelial programs that may support BAT function. However, we also uncover that culturing BAT-ECs profoundly remodels EC identity. Transcriptomic profiling shows that BAT-ECs rapidly downregulate BAT-enriched endothelial markers and acquire features resembling WAT-ECs. This dedifferentiation is accompanied by signatures of proliferation, adhesion remodeling, and endothelial-to-mesen
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
How we grade evidenceBrowse all related research
Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.