Genetic Analysis of Brown Adipose Tissue, Obesity and Growth in Mice

The hypothesis developed from single-gene mutant obese rodents that brown adipose tissue (BAT), through its thermogenic ability, is an important factor in the development of obesity, was tested in a randombred population of mice in which degree of adiposity is polygenically determined. Additive direct genetic parameters for measures of body size, lean, fatness and BAT at 6 wk of age were estimated under control and high-fat postweaning dietary regimens. Heritabilities were generally similar for the two diets. However, the lipid-free dry (LFD) component of BAT had a heritability estimate of 0.70 ± 0.26 on the control diet, but only 0.09 ± 0.20 on the high-fat diet. For all traits, genotype by diet interactions indicated that additive direct genetic rankings were not significantly different for the two diets. Based on estimates of genetic parameters in the control diet, selection for 6-wk body weight or 3- to 6-wk gain is expected to increase body size and adiposity. Selection for BAT weight is predicted to result in large, lean individuals. However, selection for the LFD content of BAT, generally believed to be a better indicator of thermogenic ability, is predicted to increase fatness as well as body size. Selection for LFD as a proportion of 6-wk body weight reduced the expected correlated response in fatness. It was concluded that BAT does not play a major role in determining the correlated response in obesity that is often found in populations selected for large body size.     

Effects of dietary protein to carbohydrate balance on energy intake,fat storage,and heat production in mice

Objective:

Protein leverage plays a role in driving increased energy intakes that may promote weight gain. The influence of the protein to carbohydrate ratio (P:C) in diets of C57BL/6J mice on total energy intake, fat storage, and thermogenesis was investigated.

Design and Methods:

Male mice (9 weeks old) were provided ad libitum access to one of five isocaloric diets that differed in P:C. Food intake was recorded for 12 weeks. After 16 weeks, white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) deposits were dissected, weighed, and the expression levels of key metabolic regulators were determined in BAT. In a separate cohort, body surface temperature was measured in response to 25 diets differing in protein, fat, and carbohydrate content.

Results:

Mice on low P:C diets (9:72 and 17:64) had greater total energy intake and increased WAT and BAT stores. Body surface temperature increased with total energy intake and with protein, fat, and carbohydrate, making similar contributions per kJ ingested. Expression of three key regulators of thermogenesis were downregulated in BAT in mice on the lowest P:C diet.

Conclusions:

Low‐protein diets induced sustained hyperphagia and a generalized expansion of fat stores. Increased body surface temperature on low P:C diets was consistent with diet‐induced thermogenesis (DIT) as a means to dissipate excess ingested energy on such diets, although this was not sufficient to prevent development of increased adiposity. Whether BAT was involved in DIT is not clear. Increased BAT mass on low P:C diets might suggest so, but patterns of thermogenic gene expression do not support a role for BAT in DIT, although they might reflect failure of thermogenic function with prolonged exposure to a low P:C diet.     

Role of thermogenesis in the regulation of energy balance in relation to obesity

Obligatory thermogenesis is a necessary accompaniment of all metabolic processes involved in maintenance of the body in the living state, and occurs in all organs. It includes energy expenditure involved in ingesting, digesting, and processing food (thermic effect of food (TEF]. At certain life stages extra energy expenditure for growth, pregnancy, or lactation would also be obligatory. Facultative thermogenesis is superimposed on obligatory thermogenesis and can be rapidly switched on and rapidly suppressed by the nervous system. Facultative thermogenesis is important in both thermal balance, in which control of thermoregulatory thermogenesis (shivering in muscle, nonshivering in brown adipose tissue (BAT] balances neural control of heat loss mechanisms, and in energy balance, in which control of facultative thermogenesis (exercise-induced in muscle, diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) in BAT) balances control of energy intake. Thermal balance (i.e., body temperature) is much more stringently controlled than energy balance (i.e., body energy stores). Reduced energy expenditure for thermogenesis is important in two types of obesity in laboratory animals. In the first type, deficient DIT in BAT is a prominent feature of altered energy balance. It may or may not be associated with hyperphagia. In a second type, reduced cold-induced thermogenesis in BAT as well as in other organs is a prominent feature of altered thermal balance. This in turn results in altered energy balance and obesity, exacerbated in some examples by hyperphagia. In some of the hyperphagic obese animals it is likely that the exaggerated obligatory thermic effect of food so alters thermal balance that BAT thermogenesis is suppressed. In all obese animals, deficient hypothalamic control of facultative thermogenesis and (or) food intake is implicated.     

Lack of TRPV2 impairs thermogenesis in mouse brown adipose tissue

Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a major site for mammalian non‐shivering thermogenesis, could be a target for prevention and treatment of human obesity. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2), a Ca²⁺‐permeable non‐selective cation channel, plays vital roles in the regulation of various cellular functions. Here, we show that TRPV2 is expressed in brown adipocytes and that mRNA levels of thermogenic genes are reduced in both cultured brown adipocytes and BAT from TRPV2 knockout (TRPV2KO) mice. The induction of thermogenic genes in response to β‐adrenergic receptor stimulation is also decreased in TRPV2KO brown adipocytes and suppressed by reduced intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations in wild‐type brown adipocytes. In addition, TRPV2KO mice have more white adipose tissue and larger brown adipocytes and show cold intolerance, and lower BAT temperature increases in response to β‐adrenergic receptor stimulation. Furthermore, TRPV2KO mice have increased body weight and fat upon high‐fat‐diet treatment. Based on these findings, we conclude that TRPV2 has a role in BAT thermogenesis and could be a target for human obesity therapy.     

High body weight associated with impaired nonshivering thermogenesis but improved glucose tolerance in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)

Overweight and obesity correspond with metabolic syndromes, such as glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to determine whether decreased thermogenesis mass and glucose intolerance are directly related to changes in body mass in Mongolian gerbils. High body weight gerbils displayed increase in total body fat mass especially epididymal fat pad, and decrease in nonshivering thermogenesis, as indicated by depressed mitochondrial protein content and uncoupling protein-1 content in brown adipose tissue. No variations of sirtuin 1 and subunit IV of cytochrome oxidase expression were found in brown adipose tissue and skeletal muscle between the two groups. High body weight gerbils showed increased serum leptin and insulin concentrations but surprisingly increased glucose tolerance, suggesting a difference from other obese species in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Serum leptin levels were negatively correlated with UCP1 content in BAT and positively correlated with energy intake and insulin concentration. Our data suggest that leptin may be involved in thermogenesis regulation, insulin secretion and glucose metabolism in HBW gerbils.     

Differences in lipogenesis in tissues of control and gold-thioglucose obese mice after an isocaloric meal

Lipogenesis was measured in 2 and 5 week gold-thioglucose (GTG) obese mice after a single meal of 0.5 g of standard chow. Compared to control mice the rate of lipogenesis in GTG obese mice, was 4-fold higher in liver and 10-fold higher in white adipose tissue (WAT). In brown adipose tissue (BAT) of GTG-injected mice the lipogenic rate was only 50% of that of controls. These results indicate that the increased lipid synthesis observed in GTG-injected mice is not due solely to hyperphagia and that some other stimuli, such as increased basal insulin levels and/or decreased thermogenesis and insulin resistance in BAT, contribute to the high rates of fat synthesis in this animal model of obesity.     

The Effects of Calcium Channel Blocker Benidipine and Calmodulin Antagonist W7 on GDP-Binding Capacity of Brown Adipose Tissue in Mice

It has been suggested that increased dietary calcium intake can attenuate obesity. Calcium antagonists, such as benidipine, also have been shown to have an anti-obesity effect. However, the mechanism for calcium-related anti-obesity effect has not yet been established. A defective brown adipose tissue thermogenesis has been shown in obese rodents. This study was designed to examine the direct effects of calcium channel blocker benidipine and calmodulin antagonist W7 administration on the adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue taken from the genetically obese mice and their lean controls. The GDP binding to brown-fat cell mitochondria was used as a brown adipose tissue thermogenic index. The results show that benidipine treatment had no marked effect on brown-fat cell GDP-binding capacities in both obese and lean mice. However, GDP-binding capacities were significantly reduced in both obese and lean mice after the W7 administration. The results of this study support the previous finding that benidipine did not have direct thermogenic effect on brown adipose tissue and suggest that the change in intracellular calmodulin availability might contribute to the adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue.     

Matured Hop Bittering Components Induce Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue via Sympathetic Nerve Activity

Obesity is the principal symptom of metabolic syndrome, which refers to a group of risk factors that increase the likelihood of atherosclerosis. In recent decades there has been a sharp rise in the incidence of obesity throughout the developed world. Iso-α-acids, the bitter compounds derived from hops in beer, have been shown to prevent diet-induced obesity by increasing lipid oxidation in the liver and inhibition of lipid absorption from the intestine. Whereas the sharp bitterness induced by effective dose of iso-α-acids precludes their acceptance as a nutrient, matured hop bittering components (MHB) appear to be more agreeable. Therefore, we tested MHB for an effect on ameliorating diet-induced body fat accumulation in rodents. MHB ingestion had a beneficial effect but, compared to iso-α-acids and despite containing structurally similar compounds, acted via different mechanisms to reduce body fat accumulation. MHB supplementation significantly reduced body weight gain, epididymal white adipose tissue weight, and plasma non-esterified free fatty acid levels in diet-induced obese mice. We also found that uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT) was significantly increased in MHB-fed mice at both the mRNA and protein levels. In addition, MHB administration in rats induced the β-adrenergic signaling cascade, which is related to cAMP accumulation in BAT, suggesting that MHB could modulate sympathetic nerve activity innervating BAT (BAT-SNA). Indeed, single oral administration of MHB elevated BAT-SNA in rats, and this elevation was dissipated by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy. Single oral administration of MHB maintained BAT temperature at a significantly higher level than in control rats. Taken together, these findings indicate that MHB ameliorates diet-induced body fat accumulation, at least partly, by enhancing thermogenesis in BAT via BAT-SNA activation. Our data suggests that MHB is a useful tool for developing functional foods or beverages to counteract the accumulation of body fat.     

Effects of cigarette smoke on norepinephrine turnover and thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue in MSG-induced obese mice

To clarify whether cigarette smoke stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and thermogenesis in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT), we measured norepinephrine (NE) turnover, an indicator of SNS activity, guanosine-5'-diphosphate (GDP) binding, a thermogenic indicator, and oxygen consumption in IBAT in monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG)-induced obese and saline control mice following a two-week exposure to cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke significantly increased NE turnover, GDP binding and oxygen consumption in IBAT, and significantly reduced body weight in MSG obese mice as well as in control mice. However, food intake was unchanged in the MSG group. These results suggest that cigarette smoke stimulates NE turnover and thermogenesis in BAT, which contribute to the mitigation of obesity.     

Reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and metabolic rate in pre-obese mice treated with monosodium-L-glutamate

To clarify whether reduced brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and resting metabolic rate (RMR) are the cause or the consequence of obesity in monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG)-treated mice, we measured guanosine-5'-diphosphate (GDP) binding, and oxygen consumption in the interscapular BAT (IBAT) mitochondria, and the RMR in pre-obese (3-week-old) and obese (12-week-old) MSG-treated mice. Decreases in IBAT mitochondrial GDP binding and oxygen consumption as well as lowered RMR in MSG-treated mice were found even in the pre-obese stage as well as the obese stage, when compared to those in control mice. These findings suggest that reduced BAT thermogenesis may be one of the contributing factors in the development of obesity.     

Induction of fatty acid-binding protein 3 in brown adipose tissue correlates with increased demand for adaptive thermogenesis in rodents

We investigated the contribution of fatty acid-binding protein 3 (FABP3) to adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) in rodents. The expression of FABP3 mRNA in BAT was regulated discriminatively in response to alteration of the ambient temperature, which regulation was similar and reciprocal to the regulation of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and leptin, respectively. FABP3 expression in the BAT was significantly higher in the UCP1-knockout (KO) mice than in the wild-type ones, and these KO mice showed a higher clearance rate of free fatty acid from the plasma. In addition, FABP3 expression in the BAT was increased greatly with the development of diet-induced obesity in mice. These results indicate that the induction of FABP3 in BAT correlates with an increased demand for adaptive thermogenesis in rodents. FABP3 appears to be essential for accelerating fatty acid flux and its oxidation through UCP1 activity for non-shivering thermogenesis in BAT.     

Brown adipose tissue thermogenesis: interdisciplinary studies

Energy expenditure for thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) serves either to maintain body temperature in the cold or to waste food energy. It has roles in thermal balance and energy balance, and when defective, is usually associated with obesity. BAT can grow or atrophy; it is usually atrophied in obese animals. Control of BAT thermogenesis and growth is by the sympathetic nervous system, with integration of signals in the hypothalamus. Sensory nerves may also be involved. Understanding the control of growth and differentiation of BAT is important for discovering how to reactivate it is obesity. Studies on control of gene expression in BAT are concentrating on thermogenically important components such as the uncoupling protein (which allows BAT mitochondria to operate in a thermogenic uncoupled mode), lipoprotein lipase (which allows BAT to compete with white adipose tissue for dietary lipid), and thyroxine 5'-deiodinase (which allows endogenous triiodothyronine generation, part of the control of differentiation and growth of BAT). Differentiation of BAT cell precursors in culture has recently been achieved. BAT is present in adult humans and some anti-obesity drugs are targeted to stimulation of BAT thermogenesis. However, extrapolation to humans of results of studies of BAT requires the development of novel approaches to the noninvasive assessment of amount and function of human BAT.     

Orexin is required for brown adipose tissue development, differentiation, and function

Orexin (OX) neuropeptides stimulate feeding and arousal. Deficiency of orexin is implicated in narcolepsy, a disease associated with obesity, paradoxically in the face of reduced food intake. Here, we show that obesity in orexin-null mice is associated with impaired brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Failure of thermogenesis in OX-null mice is due to inability of brown preadipocytes to differentiate. The differentiation defect in OX-null neonates is circumvented by OX injections to OX-null dams. In?vitro, OX, triggers the full differentiation program in mesenchymal progenitor stem cells, embryonic fibroblasts and brown preadipocytes via p38 mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase and bone morphogenetic protein receptor-1a (BMPR1A)-dependent Smad1/5 signaling. Our study suggests that obesity associated with OX depletion is linked to brown-fat hypoactivity, which leads to dampening of energy expenditure. Thus, orexin plays an integral role in adaptive thermogenesis and body weight regulation via effects on BAT differentiation and function.     

Chronic high-fat feeding impairs adaptive induction of mitochondrial fatty acid combustion-associated proteins in brown adipose tissue of mice

Since brown adipose tissue (BAT) is involved in thermogenesis using fatty acids as a fuel, BAT activation is a potential strategy for treating obesity and diabetes. However, whether BAT fatty acid combusting capacity is preserved in these conditions has remained unclear. We therefore evaluated expression levels of fatty acid oxidation-associated enzymes and uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) in BAT by western blot using a diet-induced obesity C57BL/6J mouse model. In C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) over 2–4 weeks, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (Cpt2), acyl-CoA thioesterase (Acot) 2, Acot11 and Ucp1 levels were significantly increased compared with baseline and control low-fat diet (LFD)-fed mice. Similar results were obtained in other mouse strains, including ddY, ICR and KK-Ay, but the magnitudes of the increase in Ucp1 level were much smaller than in C57BL/6J mice, with decreased Acot11 levels after HFD-feeding. In C57BL/6J mice, increased levels of these mitochondrial proteins declined to near baseline levels after a longer-term HFD-feeding (20 weeks), concurrent with the accumulation of unilocular, large lipid droplets in brown adipocytes. Extramitochondrial Acot11 and acyl-CoA oxidase remained elevated. Treatment of mice with Wy-14,643 also increased these proteins, but was less effective than 4 week-HFD, suggesting that mechanisms other than peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α were also involved in the upregulation. These results suggest that BAT enhances its fatty acid combusting capacity in response to fat overload, however profound obesity deprives BAT of the responsiveness to fat, possibly via mitochondrial alteration.     

Chronic administration of BRL 26830A for 9 weeks improves insulin sensitivity but does not prevent weight gain in gold-thioglucose obese mice.

BRL 26830A, a beta adrenoceptor agonist, has been shown to have antiobesity and antidiabetic properties in rodents. The aim of this study was to study the effects of chronic BRL 26830A treatment (20 mg/kg/day for 9 weeks) on weight gain and the development of insulin resistance in gold-thioglucose-injected mice (GTG). BRL 26830A slowed the rate of weight gain in GTG such that mice weighed significantly less between 2 w and 7 w of treatment. However, at the time of sacrifice (9 w), there was no difference in body weight between treated and untreated GTG. The obesity-induced reduction in lipogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) was increased 9 fold to greater than CON levels. However, weight and fatty acid (FA) content of BAT were reduced, suggesting increased lipid turnover and thermogenesis. Lipogenesis, FA content and fat pad weight were unchanged in white adipose tissue (WAT) and decreased in liver of GTG. Glucose tolerance was improved in both CON and GTG. Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and changes in cardiac and hepatic glucose oxidation as indicated by PDHC activity were normalized. Serum triglycerides and non-esterified fatty acids were reduced. Thus, chronic BRL 26830A treatment prevented the development of insulin resistance and attenuated weight gain, but did not prevent the development of obesity in this model.     

Using brown adipose tissue to treat obesity - the central issue

Current therapeutic strategies are proving inadequate to deal with growing obesity rates because of the inherent resistance of the human body to weight loss. The activation of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) represents an opportunity to increase energy expenditure and weight loss alongside improved lipid and glucose homeostasis. Research into the regulation of BAT has made increasing the thermogenic capacity of an individual to treat metabolic disease a plausible strategy, despite thermogenesis being under tight central nervous system control. Previous therapies targeted at the sympathetic nervous system have had deleterious effects because of a lack of organ specificity, but advances in our understanding of central BAT regulatory systems might open up better strategies to specifically stimulate BAT in obese individuals to aid weight reduction.     

Adipocyte lineages: Tracing back the origins of fat

The obesity epidemic has intensified efforts to understand the mechanisms controlling adipose tissue development. Adipose tissue is generally classified as white adipose tissue (WAT), the major energy storing tissue, or brown adipose tissue (BAT), which mediates non-shivering thermogenesis. It is hypothesized that brite adipocytes (brown in white) may represent a third adipocyte class. The recent realization that brown fat exist in adult humans suggests increasing brown fat energy expenditure could be a therapeutic strategy to combat obesity. To understand adipose tissue development, several groups are tracing the origins of mature adipocytes back to their adult precursor and embryonic ancestors. From these studies emerged a model that brown adipocytes originate from a precursor shared with skeletal muscle that expresses Myf5-Cre, while all white adipocytes originate from a Myf5-negative precursors. While this provided a rational explanation to why BAT is more metabolically favorable than WAT, recent work indicates the situation is more complex because subsets of white adipocytes also arise from Myf5-Cre expressing precursors. Lineage tracing studies further suggest that the vasculature may provide a niche supporting both brown and white adipocyte progenitors; however, the identity of the adipocyte progenitor cell is under debate. Differences in origin between adipocytes could explain metabolic heterogeneity between depots and/or influence body fat patterning particularly in lipodystrophy disorders. Here, we discuss recent insights into adipose tissue origins highlighting lineage-tracing studies in mice, how variations in metabolism or signaling between lineages could affect body fat distribution, and the questions that remain unresolved. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Modulation of Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease.