beige fat cells tagged posts

Researchers describe how energy expenditure and heat production are regulated in obesity through a previously unknown cellular pathway. Humans carry around with them, often abundantly so, at least two kinds of fat tissue: white and brown. White fat cells are essentially inert containers for energy stored in the form of a single large, oily droplet. Brown fat cells are more complex, containing multiple, smaller droplets intermixed with dark-colored mitochondria — cellular organelles that give them their color and are the “engines” that convert the lipid droplets into heat and energy.

Some people also have “beige”...

Highlights •Cx43 expression and beige adipocyte gap junctions are increased during WAT beiging •Genetic disruption or pharmacological inhibition of Cx43 blunts WAT beiging •Overexpression of Cx43 promotes WAT beiging in the presence of a mild cold stimulus •Human beige or brown fat has higher Cx43 expression than white adipose tissue

When exposed to cold, clusters of cells within the body’s white fat become beige – a color change that reflects the creation of more energy-producing mitochondria, that enable cells to burn calories and give off heat...