MicroRNA 34a Inhibits Beige and Brown Fat Formation in Obesity in Part by Suppressing Adipocyte Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Signaling and SIRT1 Function

Brown fat generates heat through uncoupled respiration, protecting against hypothermia and obesity. Adult humans have brown fat, but the amounts and activities are substantially decreased in obesity, by unknown mechanisms. Here we show that elevated microRNA 34a (miR-34a) in obesity inhibits fat browning in part by suppressing the browning activators fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and SIRT1. Lentivirus-mediated downregulation of miR-34a in mice with diet-induced obesity reduced adiposity, improved serum profiles, increased the mitochondrial DNA copy number, and increased oxidative function in adipose tissue in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Remarkably, downregulation of miR-34a increased coexpression of the beige fat-specific marker CD137 and the browning marker UCP1 in all types of white fat, including visceral fat, and promoted additional browning in brown fat. Mechanistically, downregulation of miR-34a increased expression of the FGF21 receptor components, FGFR1 and βKL, and also that of SIRT1, resulting in FGF21/SIRT1-dependent deacetylation of PGC-1α and induction of the browning genes Ucp1, Pgc-1α, and Prdm16. Importantly, anti-miR-34a-mediated beneficial effects, including decreased adiposity, are likely from multiple tissues, since downregulation of miR-34a also improves hepatic FGF21 signaling and lipid oxidation. This study identifies miR-34a as an inhibitor of beige and brown fat formation, providing a potential target for treating obesity-related diseases.     

Pocket Proteins Control White Versus Brown Fat Cell Differentiation

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Irisin and FGF21 Are Cold-Induced Endocrine Activators of Brown Fat Function in Humans

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线粒体质量控制与米色脂肪之间的关系

近年来,肥胖患病率不断上升,肥胖已成为全球性公共卫生问题.肥胖能够增加高血压、冠心病等心血管疾病的发病风险,防治肥胖已经成为亟待解决的社会问题.米色脂肪是一种产热型脂肪细胞,可在受到寒冷、药物、运动等外界刺激下由白色脂肪细胞转化而来,但其形态和功能却与白色脂肪细胞不同,而与棕色脂肪细胞类似,即米色脂肪同样含有丰富的线粒...     

Warming Induces Significant Reprogramming of Beige,but Not Brown,Adipocyte Cellular Identity

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Ablation of PRDM16 and Beige Adipose Causes Metabolic Dysfunction and a Subcutaneous to Visceral Fat Switch

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Three-Dimensional Adipose Tissue Imaging Reveals Regional Variation in Beige Fat Biogenesis and PRDM16-Dependent Sympathetic Neurite Density

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The Molecular Signature of HIV-1-Associated Lipomatosis Reveals Differential Involvement of Brown and Beige/Brite Adipocyte Cell Lineages

Highly active antiretroviral therapy has remarkably improved quality of life of HIV-1-infected patients. However, this treatment has been associated with the so-called lipodystrophic syndrome, which conveys a number of adverse metabolic effects and morphological alterations. Among them, lipoatrophy of subcutaneous fat in certain anatomical areas and hypertrophy of visceral depots are the most common. Less frequently, lipomatous enlargements of subcutaneous fat at distinct anatomic areas occur. Lipomatous adipose tissue in the dorso-cervical area (“buffalo hump”) has been associated with a partial white-to-brown phenotype transition and with increased cell proliferation, but, to date, lipomatous enlargements arising in other parts of the body have not been characterized. In order to establish the main molecular events associated with the appearance of lipomatosis in HIV-1 patients, we analyzed biopsies of lipomatous tissue from “buffalo hump” and from other anatomical areas in patients, in comparison with healthy subcutaneous adipose tissue, using a marker gene expression approach. Both buffalo-hump and non-buffalo-hump lipomatous adipose tissues exhibited similar patterns of non-compromised adipogenesis, unaltered inflammation, non-fibrotic phenotype and proliferative activity. Shorter telomere length, prelamin A accumulation and SA-β-Gal induction, reminiscent of adipocyte senescence, were also common to both types of lipomatous tissues. Buffalo hump biopsies showed expression of marker genes of brown adipose tissue (e.g. UCP1) and, specifically, of “classical” brown adipocytes (e.g. ZIC1) but not of beige/brite adipocytes. No such brown fat-related gene expression occurred in lipomatous tissues at other anatomical sites. In conclusion, buffalo hump and other subcutaneous adipose tissue enlargements from HIV-1-infected patients share a similar lipomatous character. However, a distorted induction of white-to-“classical brown adipocyte” phenotype appears unique of dorso-cervical lipomatosis. Thus, the insults caused by HIV-1 viral infection and/or antiretroviral therapy leading to lipomatosis are acting in a location- and adipocyte lineage-dependent manner.