Metabolic activity of brown, "beige," and white adipose tissues in response to chronic adrenergic stimulation in male mice.

Classical brown adipocytes such as those found in interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) represent energy-burning cells, which have been postulated to play a pivotal role in energy metabolism. Brown adipocytes can also be found in white adipose tissue (WAT) depots [e.g., inguinal WAT (iWAT)] following adrenergic stimulation, and they have been referred to as "beige" adipocytes. Whether the presence of these adipocytes, which gives iWAT a beige appearance, can confer a white depot with some thermogenic activity remains to be seen. In consequence, we designed the present study to investigate the metabolic activity of iBAT, iWAT, and epididymal white depots in mice. Mice were either 1) kept at thermoneutrality (30°C), 2) kept at 30°C and treated daily for 14 days with an adrenergic agonist [CL-316,243 (CL)], or 3) housed at 10°C for 14 days. Metabolic activity was assessed using positron emission tomography imaging with fluoro-[(18)F]deoxyglucose (glucose uptake), fluoro-[(18)F]thiaheptadecanoic acid (fatty acid uptake), and [(11)C]acetate (oxidative activity). In each group, substrate uptakes and oxidative activity were measured in anesthetized mice in response to acute CL. Our results revealed iBAT as a major site of metabolic activity, which exhibited enhanced glucose and nonesterified fatty acid uptakes and oxidative activity in response to chronic cold and CL. On the other hand, beige adipose tissue failed to exhibit appreciable increase in oxidative activity in response to chronic cold and CL. Altogether, our results suggest that the contribution of beige fat to acute-CL-induced metabolic activity is low compared with that of iBAT, even after sustained adrenergic stimulation.

Labbé SM ，Caron A ，Chechi K ，Laplante M ，Lecomte R ，Richard D ... -  《-》

Interscapular brown adipose tissue denervation does not promote the oxidative activity of inguinal white adipose tissue in male mice.

Labbé SM ，Caron A ，Festuccia WT ，Lecomte R ，Richard D ... -  《-》

Imaging adipose tissue browning using the TSPO-18kDa tracer [(18)F]FEPPA.

The browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) into beige has been proposed as a strategy to enhance energy expenditure to combat the growing epidemic of obesity. Research into browning strategies are hampered by the lack of sensitive, translatable, imaging tools capable of detecting beige fat mass non-invasively. [18F]FDG is able to detect activated beige fat but provides little information on unstimulated beige fat mass. We have assessed the use of [18F]FEPPA, a tracer for the TSPO-18KDa found on the outer mitochondrial membrane, as an alternative imaging agent capable of detecting unstimulated brown fat (BAT) and beige fat. Female Balb/c mice (n = 5) were treated for 7 days with the β3 adrenergic agonist CL-316,243 to induce the browning of inguinal WAT (beige fat). Animals were imaged longitudinally with [18F]FDG and [18F]FEPPA and uptake in interscapular BAT and inguinal WAT assessed. The browning of inguinal WAT was confirmed using H&E and immunohistochemical detection of UCP-1 and TSPO. Repeated dosing with β3-adrenergic agonist CL-316,243 caused a significant increase in [18F]FDG uptake in both interscapular BAT and inguinal WAT associated with the increased metabolic activity of brown and beige adipocytes respectively. [18F]FEPPA uptake was likewise increased in inguinal WAT but showed no increase in BAT uptake due to stimulation over the same time course. Furthermore, inguinal WAT uptake was unaffected by pharmacological blockade, indicating that [18F]FEPPA uptake is associated with the expression of mitochondria in BAT and beige adipocytes and independent of activation. These data show that [18F]FEPPA can detect BAT and newly formed beige fat under non-stimulated, thermoneutral conditions and that uptake after stimulation is linked to mitochondrial expression as opposed to activation.

Hartimath SV ，Khanapur S ，Boominathan R ，Jiang L ，Cheng P ，Yong FF ，Tan PW ，Robins EG ，Goggi JL ... -  《Molecular Metabolism》

Metabolic changes in adipose tissues in response to β(3) -adrenergic receptor activation in mice.

Brown and beige adipocytes dissipate energy as heat. Thus, the activation of brown adipocytes and the emergence of beige adipocytes in white adipose tissue (WAT) are suggested to be useful for preventing and treating obesity. Although β3 -adrenergic receptor activation is known to stimulate lipolysis and activation of brown and beige adipocytes, fat depot-dependent changes in metabolite concentrations are not fully elucidated. The current study examined the effect of treatment with CL-316,243, a β3 -adrenergic receptor agonist, on the relative abundance of metabolites in interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT), inguinal WAT (ingWAT), and epididymal WAT (epiWAT). Intraperitoneal injection of CL-316,243 (1 mg/kg) for 3 consecutive days increased the relative abundance of several glycolysis-related metabolites in all examined fat depots. The cellular concentrations of metabolites involved in the citric acid cycle and of free amino acids were also increased in epiWAT by CL-316,243. CL-316,243 increased the expression levels of several enzymes and transporters related to glucose metabolism and amino acid catabolism in ingWAT and iBAT but not in epiWAT. CL-316,243 also induced the emergence of more beige adipocytes in ingWAT than in epiWAT. Furthermore, adipocytes surrounded by macrophages were detected in the epiWAT of mice given CL-316,243. The current study reveals the fat depot-dependent modulation of cellular metabolites in CL-316,243-treated mice, presumably resulting from differential regulation of cell metabolism in different cell populations.

Fujimoto Y ，Hashimoto O ，Shindo D ，Sugiyama M ，Tomonaga S ，Murakami M ，Matsui T ，Funaba M ... -  《-》

Activation of β3-adrenoceptors increases in vivo free fatty acid uptake and utilization in brown but not white fat depots in high-fat-fed rats.

Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) present potential new therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Here, we examined the effects of β3-adrenergic stimulation on tissue-specific uptake and storage of free fatty acids (FFA) and its implications for whole body FFA metabolism in diet-induced obese rats using a multi-radiotracer technique. Male Wistar rats were high fat-fed for 12 wk and administered β3-agonist CL316,243 (CL, 1 mg·kg-1·day-1) or saline via osmotic minipumps during the last 3 wk. The rats were then fasted and acutely infused with a tracer mixture ([14C]palmitate and the partially metabolized R-[3H]bromopalmitate) under anesthesia. CL infusion decreased body weight gain and fasting plasma glucose levels. While core body temperature was unaffected, infrared thermography showed an increase in tail heat dissipation following CL infusion. Interestingly, CL markedly increased both FFA storage and utilization in interscapular and perirenal BAT, whereas the flux of FFA to skeletal muscle was decreased. In this rat model of obesity, only sporadic populations of beige adipocytes were detected in the epididymal WAT depot of CL-infused rats, and there was no change in FFA uptake or utilization in WAT following CL infusion. In summary, β3-agonism robustly increased FFA flux to BAT coupled with enhanced utilization. Increased BAT activation most likely drove the increased tail heat dissipation to maintain thermostasis. Our results emphasize the quantitative role of brown fat as the functional target of β3-agonism in obesity.

Warner A ，Kjellstedt A ，Carreras A ，Böttcher G ，Peng XR ，Seale P ，Oakes N ，Lindén D ... -  《-》