Paravertebral brown adipose tissue (pBAT): physiological role in thermogenesis

Thesis

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a metabolically active organ specialized in dissipating chemical energy as heat through non-shivering thermogenesis, primarily mediated by mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Interscapular BAT (iBAT) serves as dominant thermogenic site in infants and small mammals, however in humans it undergoes age-dependent degeneration, leading to the long-standing assumption that BAT-mediated thermogenesis is absent in adults. However, this assumption has since been disproven by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) studies revealing metabolically active BAT depots in adult men. Among these depots is the paravertebral BAT (pBAT) located adjacent to sympathetic ganglia. This project investigates the potential role of pBAT as an active thermogenic tissue, by examining its transcriptional profile and response to thermogenic stimuli, such as cold exposure and β-adrenergic activation. Our findings indicate that pBAT displays a strong thermogenic gene expression signature and could represent a human equivalent or alternative to classical iBAT.

Authors: Djumaeva, N

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-konvdbnnb
• Type of award: MSc by Research
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: sympathetic nervous system; non-shivering thermogenesis; brown adipose tissue; metabolism; thermogenesis; mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)
• Subjects: Sympathetic nervous system; Brown adipose tissue; Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1); Energy metabolism