Brown/Beige Adipose Tissue: Novel Players in the Fight Against Obesity

Aurum Journal of Health Sciences, cilt.4, sa.3, ss.129-152, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)

Obesity is a metabolic disease which its prevalence is increasing worldwide. Multidisciplinary strategies

are required to combat obesity. Many methods, from diet to surgery, are tried in obesity treatment.

However, these methods have not been successful enough in the treatment of obesity. In recent years,

a new adipose tissue type has been mentioned, with very important developments in adipose tissue

biology. This type of adipose tissue is named as beige adipose tissue, different from white adipose tissue

and classical brown adipose tissue. It has been observed that the beige adipocytes have a Brown-like

characteristic and have thermogenesis abilities. It has been shown that beige adipocytes can develop

in the white adipose tissue by a mechanism called browning, with the effect of various stimuli such

as cold, hormones, exercise and dietary compounds. Brown/beige adipocytes are a candidate to be a

new generation weight loss strategy and it is likely to have benefits against both obesity and its related

metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, diabetes, etc. To date, an increasing number of studies

have been carried out to combat obesity by inducing browning of WAT by trying many compounds

or methods, including cold exposure, various drugs, hormones, and plant-based agents. With the

use of new generation nanotechnology-based therapies in the near future, specific molecules that

can directly bind to brown/beige fat cells and activate the thermogenic program will be able to treat

obesity. However, the therapeutic use of browning agents in people with obesity in the coming years

will depend on the outcome of further randomised controlled trials.