Brown adipose tissue

Thermogenesis is the process of heat production, and contributes to approximately 10% of total energy expenditure. Adipose tissue is an organ containing white adipocytes that store excess calories as triglycerides. In addition brown and beige adipocytes that are rich in mitochondria, dissipate energy as heat (non-shivering thermogenesis). Targeting brown and beige adipose tissue opens for novel therapies against obesity and type diabetes mellitus. Retrospective studies suggest that women have more active brown fat (BAT), which may be attributed to differences in sex steroid hormones levels.  Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSC) are isolated from liposuction material and differentiated into brown fat cells (in vitro model). Our aim is to

• Identify novel transcriptional regulators important for the brown/beige adipocyte metabolism.
• Explore the role of oestradiol and oestrogen receptor (ER) in BAT activity and development.
• Investigate ER-dependent regulation of batokines and cytokines from brown adipocytes.