Impact factors and clinical significance of the browning of white adipose tissue
1Department of Gastroenterology, Xi’an Central Hospital, Xi’an 710003, Shanxi, China; 2Department of Gastroenterology, Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, Shanghai 201399, China; 3College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
Abstract：The adipose tissue is an extreme important tissue for energy storage. There are three types of adipose tissue in mammals: white fat tissue, classic brown adipose tissue, and inducible brown adipose tissue, or beige adipose tissue. The main function of white fat tissue is to store energy in the form of triglyceride and maintain the endocrine function. The main function of classic brown adipose tissue and inducible brown adipose tissue is to generate heat and maintain the energy balance of the body. Cold environment and exercise can stimulate the browning of white adipose tissue, and PRDM16, PPARγ and PGC-1α are the three core transcription factors related to this process. The browning of white adipose tissue is a complex process involving many factors. Previous studies showed that the browning of white adipose tissue is beneficial to the treatment of obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, and other diseases, on the other hand, it can promote the progress of the patients with malignant tumor. Also, it can be seen that different types of adipose tissue always maintain a dynamic balance in healthy human body. How to intervene in various types of adipose tissue at the early stage of metabolic imbalance, through key targets, will be a new idea for the further researches.
2019, Vol. 6 
