Standardized In Vitro Models of Human Adipose Tissue Reveal Metabolic Flexibility in Brown Adipocyte Thermogenesis

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• 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

Abstract (original English)

Functional human brown and white adipose tissue (BAT and WAT) are vital for thermoregulation and nutritional homeostasis, while obesity and other stressors lead, respectively, to cold intolerance and metabolic disease. Understanding BAT and WAT physiology and dysfunction necessitates clinical trials complemented by mechanistic experiments at the cellular level. These require standardized in vitro models, currently lacking, that establish references for gene expression and function. We generated and characterized a pair of immortalized, clonal human brown (hBA) and white (hWA) preadipocytes derived from the perirenal and subcutaneous depots, respectively, of a 40-year-old male individual. Cells were immortalized with hTERT and confirmed to be of a mesenchymal, nonhematopoietic lineage based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting and DNA barcoding. Functional assessments showed that the hWA and hBA phenocopied primary adipocytes in terms of adrenergic signaling, lipolysis, and thermogenesis. Compared to hWA, hBA were metabolically distinct, with higher rates of glucose uptake and lactate metabolism, and greater basal, maximal, and nonmitochondrial respiration, providing a mechanistic explanation for the association between obesity and BAT dysfunction. The hBA also responded to the stress of maximal respiration by using both endogenous and exogenous fatty acids. In contrast to cer

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.