Brown fat activation mitigates alcohol-induced liver steatosis and injury in mice.

Chronic alcohol consumption causes liver injury, inflammation and fibrosis, thereby increasing morbidity and mortality. Paradoxically, modest drinking is believed to confer metabolic improvement, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we have identified a novel hepatoprotective brain/brown adipose tissue (BAT)/liver axis. Alcohol consumption or direct alcohol administration into the brain stimulated hypothalamic neural circuits and sympathetic nerves innervating BAT, and dramatically increased BAT uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) expression and activity in a BAT sympathetic nerve-dependent manner. BAT and beige fat oxidized fatty acids to fuel Ucp1-mediated thermogenesis, thereby inhibiting lipid trafficking into the liver. BAT also secreted several adipokines, including adiponectin that suppressed hepatocyte injury and death. Genetic deletion of Ucp1 profoundly augmented alcohol-induced liver steatosis, injury, inflammation and fibrosis in male and female mice. Conversely, activation of BAT and beige fat through cold exposure suppressed alcoholic liver disease development. Our results unravel an unrecognized brain alcohol-sensing/sympathetic nerve/BAT/liver axis that counteracts liver steatosis and injury.

A polyphenolic extract from green tea leaves activates fat browning in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice.

Fat browning has emerged as an attractive target for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders. Its activation leads to increased energy expenditure and reduced adiposity, thus contributing to a better energy homeostasis. Green tea extracts (GTEs) were shown to attenuate obesity and low-grade inflammation and to induce the lipolytic pathway in the white adipose tissue (WAT) of mice fed a high-fat diet. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the antiobesity effect of an extract from green tea leaves was associated with the activation of browning in the WAT and/or the inhibition of whitening in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) in HF-diet induced obese mice. Mice were fed a control diet or an HF diet supplemented with or without 0.5% polyphenolic GTE for 8 weeks. GTE supplementation significantly reduced HF-induced adiposity (WAT and BAT) and HF-induced inflammation in WAT. Histological analysis revealed that GTE reduced the adipocyte size in the WAT and the lipid droplet size in the BAT. Markers of browning were induced in the WAT upon GTE treatment, whereas markers of HF-induced whitening were reduced in the BAT. These results suggest that browning activation in the WAT and whitening reduction in the BAT by the GTE could participate to the improvement of metabolic and inflammatory disorders mediated by GTE upon HF diet. Our study emphasizes the importance of using GTE as a nutritional tool to activate browning and to decrease fat storage in all adipose tissues, which attenuate obesity.

Trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (t10-c12 CLA) treatment and caloric restriction differentially affect adipocyte cell turnover in obese and lean mice.

Caloric restriction (CR) is one of the most promising strategies for weight loss but is associated with loss of lean mass, whereas compounds such as trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (t10-c12 CLA) have been promoted as antiobesity agents. To compare the mechanisms of weight reduction by CR and t10-c12 CLA, body composition, glucose control, and characteristics of adipose tissue with respect to cell turnover (stem cells and preadipocytes, apoptosis and autophagy) and Tbx-1 localization were examined in obese db/db mice and lean C57BL/6J mice undergoing CR or fed CLA isomers (0.4% w/w c9-t11 or t10-c12) for 4 weeks. Our findings show that the t10-c12 CLA reduced whole-body fat mass by decreasing all fat depots (visceral, inguinal, brown/interscapular), while CR lowered both whole-body fat and lean mass in obese mice. t10-c12 CLA elevated blood glucose in both obese and lean mice, while glycemia was not altered by CR. The adipocyte stem cell population remained unchanged; however, t10-c12 CLA reduced and CR elevated the proportion of immature adipocytes in obese mice, suggesting differential effects on adipocyte maturation. t10-c12 CLA reduced apoptosis (activated caspase-3) in both obese and lean mice but did not alter autophagy (LC3II/LC3I). Nuclear Tbx-1, a marker of metabolically active beige adipocytes, was greater in the adipose of t10-c12 CLA-fed animals. Thus, weight loss achieved via t10-c12 CLA primarily involves fat loss and more cells with Tbx-1 localized to the nucleus, while CR operates through a mechanism that reduces both lean and fat mass and blocks adipocyte differentiation.

Maternal Retinoids Increase PDGFRα+ Progenitor Population and Beige Adipogenesis in Progeny by Stimulating Vascular Development.

Maternal vitamin A intake varies but its impact on offspring metabolic health is unknown. Here we found that maternal vitamin A or retinoic acid (RA) administration expanded PDGFRα+ adipose progenitor population in progeny, accompanied by increased blood vessel density and enhanced brown-like (beige) phenotype in adipose tissue, protecting offspring from obesity. Blockage of retinoic acid signaling by either BMS493 or negative RA receptor (RARαDN) over-expression abolished the increase in blood vessel density, adipose progenitor population, and beige adipogenesis stimulated by RA. Furthermore, RA-induced beige adipogenesis was blocked following vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) 2 knock out in PDGFRα+ cells, suggesting its mediatory role. Our data reveal an intrinsic link between maternal retinoid level and offspring health via promoting beige adipogenesis. Thus, enhancing maternal retinoids is an amiable therapeutic strategy to prevent obesity in offspring, especially for those born to obese mothers which account for one third of all pregnancies.

Omija fruit ethanol extract improves adiposity and related metabolic disturbances in mice fed a high-fat diet.

This study investigated the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying the antiobesity effect of omija fruit ethanol extract (OFE) in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). C57BL/6J mice were fed an HFD (20% fat, w/w) with or without OFE (500 mg/kg body weight) for 16 weeks. Dietary OFE significantly increased brown adipose tissue weight and energy expenditure while concomitantly decreasing white adipose tissue (WAT) weight and adipocyte size by up-regulating the expression of brown fat-selective genes in WAT. OFE also improved hepatic steatosis and dyslipidemia by enhancing hepatic fatty acid oxidation-related enzymes activity and fecal lipid excretion. In addition to steatosis, OFE decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory genes in the liver. Moreover, OFE improved glucose tolerance and lowered plasma glucose, insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, which may be linked to decreases in the activity of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes and the circulating level of gastric inhibitory polypeptide. These findings suggest that OFE may protect against diet-induced adiposity and related metabolic disturbances by controlling brown-like transformation of WAT, fatty acid oxidation, inflammation in the liver and fecal lipid excretion. Improved insulin resistance may be also associated with its antiobesity effects.

Nutrient Regulation: Conjugated Linoleic Acid's Inflammatory and Browning Properties in Adipose Tissue.

Obesity is the most widespread nutritional disease in the United States. Developing effective and safe strategies to manage excess body weight is therefore of paramount importance. One potential strategy to reduce obesity is to consume conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements containing isomers cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12, or trans-10, cis-12 alone. Proposed antiobesity mechanisms of CLA include regulation of (a) adipogenesis, (b) lipid metabolism, (c) inflammation, (d) adipocyte apoptosis, (e) browning or beiging of adipose tissue, and (f) energy metabolism. However, causality of CLA-mediated responses to body fat loss, particularly the linkage between inflammation, thermogenesis, and energy metabolism, is unclear. This review examines whether CLA's antiobesity properties are due to inflammatory signaling and considers CLA's linkage with lipogenesis, lipolysis, thermogenesis, and browning of white and brown adipose tissue. We propose a series of questions and studies to interrogate the role of the sympathetic nervous system in mediating CLA's antiobesity properties.