Prdm16 determines the thermogenic program of subcutaneous white adipose tissue in mice.

ABSTRACT: The white adipose organ is composed of both subcutaneous and several intra-abdominal depots. Excess abdominal adiposity is a major risk factor for metabolic disease in rodents and humans, while expansion of subcutaneous fat does not carry the same risks. Brown adipose produces heat as a defense against hypothermia and obesity, and the appearance of brown-like adipocytes within white adipose tissue depots is associated with improved metabolic phenotypes. Thus, understanding the differences in cell biology and function of these different adipose cell types and depots may be critical to the development of new therapies for metabolic disease. Here, we found that Prdm16, a brown adipose determination factor, is selectively expressed in subcutaneous white adipocytes relative to other white fat d

SUBMITTER: Seale P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3007155 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature