BAT tagged posts

Highlights
• Loss of IRF4 in BAT causes decreased exercise capacity and a selective myopathy
• IRF4 represses myogenic genes in BAT, including the myokine myostatin
• Neutralizing serum myostatin rescues the ability of BATI4KO mice to exercise normally
•Warming reduces IRF4 in BAT, causing myopathy that is reversed by removal of BAT

Researchers open the door to potential new therapies for certain metabolic and muscular diseases. Now, endocrinologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown for the first time that brown adipose tissue (BAT), or brown fat, can exert control over skeletal muscle function. Alterations to the brown adipose tissue in mice resulted in a significant and consistent reduction in exercise performance...

Anatomical sites of brown, white and beige adipocytes in mice and humans.

Mild stress stimulates the activity and heat production by brown fat associated with raised cortisol. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), also known as brown fat, is 1 of 2 types of fat in humans and other mammals. Initially only attributed to babies and hibernating mammals, it was discovered in recent years that adults can have brown fat too. Its main function is to generate body heat by burning calories (opposed to white fat, which is a result of storing excess calories. People with a lower body mass index (BMI) therefore have a higher amount of brown fat.

To induce a mild psychological stress, 5 healthy lean women had to solve a short maths test in the first run, but in the second run, the test was substituted with a rela...