Brown fat tissue in humans - more than just a heating organ
Humans also possess two types of fat cells (adipocytes). White adipocytes store fat as an energy reserve, while brown adipocytes convert energy directly into heat. Since the activation of thermogenesis in brown fat in healthy adults has been demonstrated not only by cold treatment but also after eating, the physiological function of this specialized fat tissue has been of particular interest. Why do we activate our energy consumption after eating and what is the function of thermogenesis in brown fat tissue?
Scientific collaborations
Prof. Dr. Kirsi Virtanen und Prof. Dr. Pirjo Nuutila, Turku, Finnland
Prof. Dr. Vasilis Ntziachristos, Lehrstuhl für Biologische Bildgebung, Technische Universität München
Dr. Ez-Zoubir Amri, CNRS …Frankreich
Prof. Dr. Hans Hauner, EKFZ
Prof. Dr. Markus Schwaiger, MRI-TUM
Selected publications
Li Y, Schnabl K, Gabler SM, Willershäuser M, Reber J, Karlas A, Laurila S, Lahesmaa M, U Din M, Bast-Habersbrunner A, Virtanen KA, Fromme T, Bolze F, O'Farrell LS, Alsina-Fernandez J, Coskun T, Ntziachristos V, Nuutila P, Klingenspor M. Secretin-Activated Brown Fat Mediates Prandial Thermogenesis to Induce Satiation. Cell. 2018 Nov 29; 175(6):1561-1574
Din M, Saari T, Raiko J, Kudomi N, Maurer SF, Lahesmaa M, Fromme T, Amri EZ, Klingenspor M, Solin O, Nuutila P, Virtanen KA. Postprandial Oxidative Metabolism of Human Brown Fat Indicates Thermogenesis. Cell Metab. 2018 Aug 7;28(2):207-216.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.05.020.
Reber J, Willershäuser M, Karlas A, Paul-Yuan K, Diot G, Franz D, Fromme T, Ovsepian SV, Bézière N, Dubikovskaya E, Karampinos DC, Holzapfel C, Hauner H, Klingenspor M, Ntziachristos V. Non-invasive Measurement of Brown Fat Metabolism Based on Optoacoustic Imaging of Hemoglobin Gradients. Cell Metab. 2018 Mar 6;27(3):689-701.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.02.002.
Gerngroß C, Schretter J, Klingenspor M, Schwaiger M, Fromme T. Active Brown Fat During 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging Defines a Patient Group with Characteristic Traits and an Increased Probability of Brown Fat Redetection. J Nucl Med. 2017 Jul;58(7):1104-1110. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.116.183988.