Autonomic regulation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in health and disease: potential clinical applications for altering BAT thermogenesis

Autonomic regulation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in health and disease: potential clinical applications for altering BAT thermogenesis. Domenico Tupone, Christopher J. Madden and Shaun F. Morrison. Frontiers In Neuroscience 9:1-14, 2014 (open access) doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00014. This is an excellent and timely review from the standpoint of the field and in terms of our collaboration with Dr. Granneman's laboratory. Shaun Morrison has been studying brown adipose tissue or BAT for a number of years. His and his postdoc's (Chris Madden) work have really come into clinical significance with the discovery of BAT in humans and its ties to obesity. Basically BAT is a source of thermogenesis and therefore can be important in terms of burning calories to stay warm in a cold environment. Interestingly for our laboratory is the fact the BAT is innervated by the sympathetic nerves which release norepinephrine onto beta 3 receptors to activate BAT. Dr. Morrision's laboratory has worked out a lot of the central circuitry or brainstem pathways by which BAT and BAT SNA is regulated under a variety of conditions, mostly associated with cold temperature exposure and the turning on of BAT. Interestingly, BAT is one set of sympathetic nerves that are not controlled by the RVLM but by a neighboring structure in the ventral medulla, the midline raphe. There are some really beautiful figures in this review and is worth reading for anyone interested in BAT, BAT SNA, and pathwways involved in thermogenesis. In the next few weeks in fact, Madhan and Priya hope to have BAT SNA recordings up and going in the laboratory, comparing runners versus sedentary rats. Should be exciting to see it develop and be sure to keep an eye out at Experimental Biology for both Shaun Morrison's and Chris Madden's work. ~PJM