New role of bone morphogenetic protein 7 in brown adipogenesis and energy expenditure.

ABSTRACT: Adipose tissue is central to the regulation of energy balance. Two functionally different types of fat are present in mammals: white adipose tissue, the primary site of triglyceride storage, and brown adipose tissue, which is specialized in energy expenditure and can counteract obesity. Factors that specify the developmental fate and function of white and brown adipose tissue remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that whereas some members of the family of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) support white adipocyte differentiation, BMP7 singularly promotes differentiation of brown preadipocytes even in the absence of the normally required hormonal induction cocktail. BMP7 activates a full program of brown adipogenesis including induction of early regulators of brown fat fate PRDM16 (

SUBMITTER: Tseng YH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2745972 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature