Brown adipose tissue and heat production in the newborn infant

Aherne, W.; Hull, D

doi:10.1002/path.1700910126

Cited by 255 publications

(171 citation statements)

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“…18 BAT came to be appreciated as an important primeval organ designed to generate heat using metabolic fuel, 19 which had enabled our ancestors to survive low winter temperatures long before houses and clothes existed. In the mid-20 th century the ability of BAT to burn calories in heat generation was proposed as a way to reduce excess body fat, leading to excitement over using the energy-expending potential of BAT to combat obesity and associated metabolic disorders.…”

Section: Brown Adipocytesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the presence of detectable amounts of active brown adipocytes in humans has been linked to increased energy expenditure, improved glycaemic control and reduced fat mass. 19 [69][70][71] To take this work forward, direct interventional studies in humans are now needed to assess the metabolic effects of natriuretic peptide infusions, some of which could be given chronically over several days to weeks. Previous studies of the effects of infusions of natriuretic peptides in both animals and humans have largely focused on blood pressure, cardiac responses and kidney function (although some studies [10][11][12] have assessed the effects of natriuretic peptide infusion on energy utilization, in terms of the balance between fat and carbohydrate oxidation).…”

Section: Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A heart–adipose tissue connection in the regulation of energy metabolism

2013

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| Almost 20 years ago, the protein encoded by the ob locus in mice was identified as an adipocytesecreted hormone, now termed leptin, which functions as a peripheral signal to communicate the organism's energy reserve-and thereby protects against starvation due to insufficient caloric resources. Additional peripheral factors have since been identified that coordinate interorgan crosstalk to manage energy resources. The heart is included in this network through its regulated release of natriuretic peptides A and B-cardiac hormones originally identified as important in blood pressure control. Emerging evidence that natriuretic peptide receptors are expressed in adipose tissue, and that circulating levels of these peptides are decreased in animals and humans with obesity, could imply that natriuretic peptides are also involved in the regulation of energy metabolism. The natriuretic peptides stimulate triglyceride lipolysis in adipocytes, a process also regulated by the sympathetic nervous system. In addition, these two pathways promote uncoupling of mitochondrial respiration and thermogenesis in brown adipocytes. This Review focuses on the roles of the natriuretic peptides and the sympathetic nervous system in regulating adipocyte metabolism. The potential for manipulating the natriuretic peptide pathway to increase energy expenditure in obesity and manage the complications of cardiometabolic disease is also discussed.

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Section: Brown Adipocytesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A heart–adipose tissue connection in the regulation of energy metabolism

2013

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“…The presence of abundant brown adipose tissue with a high thermogenic capacity in newborn infants, the increased sympathetic activity that occurs in newborn infants during exposure to cold and the large capacity of newborn infants for a thermogenic response to infused noradrenaline all suggest that brown adipose tissue is the major site of nonshivering thermogenesis in cold-exposed newborn infants (3,7). Since the resting metabolic rate can more than double in response to mild cold-exposure, most of the oxygen presumably being used in the brown adipose tissue, and since approximately 50% to 60% of the resting metabolic rate occurs in brain (15), it can be concluded that the capacity of brown adipose tissue to consume oxygen is greater than that of the brain in the newborn infant and many times that of muscle.…”

Section: Role Of Brown Adipose Tissue In the Thermogenic Response To mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 No. 4 July 1995 ing control mechanism. The large capacity for BAT thermogenesis, present at birth, allows the occurrence of extended periods of gradual cooling interspersed with episodes of heating during which meals occur.…”

Section: A New Look At the Role Of Brown Adipose Tissue In Newborn Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Thermoregulatory Feeding Occur in Newborn Infants? A Novel View of the Role of Brown Adipose Tissue Thermo genesis in Control of Food Intake

Himms‐Hagen

1995

Obesity Research

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HIMMS-HAGEN, JEAN. Does thermoregulatory feeding occur in newborn infants? A novel view of the role of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in control of food intake. Obes Res. 1995;3:361-369. The physiological significance of the extensive deposits of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in newborn human infants has been the subject of much experimentation and discussion. Because of its large thermogenic capacity, its function has usually been viewed as preparing the infant for producing heat in response to cold exposure at birth. Newborn infants are indeed capable of precise thermoregulation for a limited time over a rather limited range of ambient temperatures, from thermoneutrality (32-34'C) down to common "room" temperatures (24-28'C). During such mild "cold-exposure", in response to a decrease in their skin temperature, their sympathetic nervous system activity increases, and they can more than double their resting metabolic rate, principally by thermogenesis in their BAT. This review puts forward an entirely new role for BAT thermogenesis in the cyclic feeding pattern of newborn infants during their first months of life. BAT thermogenesis is proposed to be an integral element in a physiological thermoregulatory feeding control mechanism in which extended periods of very gradual cooling are interspersed with episodes of increased sympathetic nervous system activity, increased heating via BAT thermogenesis, arousal, and feeding. The cry with which the baby attracts its mother's attention is an integral part of the mechanism, as is the nutritive suckling reflex and the behavior of the mother. Initiation of feeding is attributed to a transient dip in blood glucose concentration that is due to stimulation of glucose utilization in the BAT. Termination of feeding is attributed to the high temperature brought about by the stimulated BAT thermogenesis. The duration of the urge to feed extends from the time of the cry to the time of the peak rise in temperature, when feeding stops. There is no clear circadian rhythm in core temperature in newborn infants, and meals occur at fairly frequent intervals both day and night in infants that are fed on demand. These physiological mechanisms are consistent with the limited information on phenomena attending spontaneous feeding in the newborn human infant and with what is known about the physiological control of feeding in rats. In rats, thermoregulatory feeding is defined as a feeding episode that occurs during a transient but marked increase in sympathetic nervous system activity that has several consequences.It stimulates BAT thermogenesis and increases body temperature. It produces a transient decline in blood glucose concentration secondary to the increased uptake of glucose by the stimulated BAT; this signals the initiation of the feeding episode. Subsequently the high temperature induced by BAT thermogenesis signals termination of the feeding episode. The size of the meal is determined by the balance between the capacity for BAT thermogenesis (heat production) and ambie...

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“…In the thorax ITOH and KUROSHIMA (1967) found brown fat around the aorta and intercostal vessels. AHERNE and HULL (1966) detected smaller masses of brown fat in the neck along the jugular vein and carotid artery. As MORSOVSKY and ROWLATT (1968) have presented, SMITH (1962SMITH ( , 1964 has correlated the location of brown fat to the blood vessels leading to the heart; the heat produced there would provide a thermal jacket on blood flowing to the heart and then distributed to the body.…”

Section: Morphologicalmentioning

confidence: 95%