Dermal Adipocytes: From Irrelevance to Metabolic Targets?

Kruglikov, Ilja L.; Scherer, Philipp E.

doi:10.1016/j.tem.2015.11.002

Cited by 101 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…Subcutaneous WAT normally responds to cold exposure with the release of free fatty acids and the induction of the beiging process, whereas dermal WAT (dWAT) reacts to the mild cold exposure with significant expansion of its thickness (up to 4-fold), (Kasza et al, 2014; Kruglikov and Scherer, 2016), suggesting a non-cell-automomous and likely neuronally controlled response of different fat depots in coordinating the response to the cold exposure. Additionally, fasting-induced activation of AgRP neurons can suppress cold-induced beiging, further highlighting the significance of neuronal control of WAT beiging (Ruan et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connexin 43 Mediates White Adipose Tissue Beiging by Facilitating the Propagation of Sympathetic Neuronal Signals

et al. 2016

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“Beige” adipocytes reside in white adipose tissue (WAT) and dissipate energy as heat. Several studies have shown that cold temperature can activate proopiomelanocortin-expressing (POMC) neurons and increase sympathetic neuronal tone to regulate WAT beiging. However, WAT is traditionally known to be sparsely innervated. Details regarding the neuronal innervation and more importantly, the propagation of the signal within the population of “beige” adipocytes are sparse. Here, we demonstrate that beige adipocytes display an increased cell-to-cell coupling via connexin 43 (Cx43) gap junction channels. Blocking of Cx43 channels by 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid decreases POMC activation-induced adipose tissue beiging. Adipocyte-specific deletion of Cx43 reduces WAT beiging to a level similar to that observed in denervated fat pads. In contrast, overexpression of Cx43 is sufficient to promote beiging even with mild cold stimuli. These data reveal the importance of cell-to-cell communication in adipose tissue for the propagation of limited neuronal inputs, resulting in effective beiging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connexin 43 Mediates White Adipose Tissue Beiging by Facilitating the Propagation of Sympathetic Neuronal Signals

et al. 2016

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“…Adipocytes accumulate in the skin below the dermis (dermal WAT, referred to here as "dWAT") and play a critical role in dermal homeostasis (Alexander et al 2015;Kruglikov and Scherer 2016). This relatively unexplored depot expands in response to cold exposure, wounding, and bacterial infection.…”

Section: Maintenance and Expansion Of Wat In Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorting out adipocyte precursors and their role in physiology and disease

2017

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The ability to maintain and expand the pool of adipocytes in adults is integral to the regulation of energy balance, tissue/stem cell homeostasis, and disease pathogenesis. For decades, our knowledge of adipocyte precursors has relied on cellular models. The identity of native adipocyte precursors has remained unclear. Recent studies have identified distinct adipocyte precursor populations that are physiologically regulated and contribute to the development, maintenance, and expansion of adipocyte pools in mice. With new tools available, the properties of adipocyte precursors can now be defined, and the regulation and function of adipose plasticity in development and physiology can be explored.Adipocytes ("fat cells") are critical regulators of several aspects of normal physiology, including energy balance, nutrient homeostasis, and tissue homeostasis (Rosen and Spiegelman 2014). White adipocytes represent the principle site for energy storage in mammals. These cells accumulate excess energy in the form of intracellular triglycerides packaged into large single lipid droplets. White adipocytes are also endocrine cells; adipocytes secrete numerous hormones and cytokines that impact several aspects of physiology, including nutrient homeostasis, inflammation, and reproductive biology (Ouchi et al.

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“…Although much fat is found deeper in the body of mice, mice display a layer of fat in the skin presently referred to as dermal adipose tissue (3,18,34). Indeed, the absence of this fat layer (caused by ablation of the syndecan-1 gene) makes mice susceptible to cold, and the thickness of this fat layer is doubled by acclimation to 23 vs. 30°C (32).…”

Section: Acclimation Temperature Does Not Affect Insulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

No insulating effect of obesity

Fischer

Csikasz

Essen

et al. 2016

American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism

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The development of obesity may be aggravated if obesity itself insulates against heat loss and thus diminishes the amount of food burnt for body temperature control. This would be particularly important under normal laboratory conditions where mice experience a chronic cold stress (at Ϸ20°C). We used Scholander plots (energy expenditure plotted against ambient temperature) to examine the insulation (thermal conductance) of mice, defined as the inverse of the slope of the Scholander curve at subthermoneutral temperatures. We verified the method by demonstrating that shaved mice possessed only half the insulation of nonshaved mice. We examined a series of obesity models [mice fed high-fat diets and kept at different temperatures, classical diet-induced obese mice, ob/ob mice, and obesity-prone (C57BL/6) vs. obesityresistant (129S) mice]. We found that neither acclimation temperature nor any kind or degree of obesity affected the thermal insulation of the mice when analyzed at the whole mouse level or as energy expenditure per lean weight. Calculation per body weight erroneously implied increased insulation in obese mice. We conclude that, in contrast to what would be expected, obesity of any kind does not increase thermal insulation in mice, and therefore, it does not in itself aggravate the development of obesity. It may be discussed as to what degree of effect excess adipose tissue has on insulation in humans and especially whether significant metabolic effects are associated with insulation in humans. obesity; insulation; ob/ob DESPITE THE PRESENT INTEREST IN METABOLISM in connection with the global obesity epidemic, there is little knowledge concerning the extent to which obesity as such affects metabolism. There is widespread interest in issues such as the release of adipokines from adipose tissue depots, but many basic issues, such as the ability of adipose tissue to affect metabolism physically, have been little examined. One of these issues is the question of the ability of adipose tissue to function as a thermal insulation barrier, decreasing the heat loss from the organism and in this way decreasing the amount of energy needed to keep the organism warm, thereby increasing the amount of excess energy prone to storage in the form of (additional) fat.Whether an insulating effect of obesity exists is of significance both for humans and for animal models of obesity. However, with regard to experimental animals, the issue of insulation is of further interest. This is because most metabolic experiments are conducted with mice kept under conditions (standard laboratory conditions of Ϸ21°C) that are principally cold for the mouse (10,19,27,37,38,42,44) and thus where a high proportion of total metabolism (nearly half) is devoted to counteracting the resulting heat loss. This is a condition very different from that which is relevant for the metabolic physiology of most humans (living in a thermoneutral environment). Thus, under the current experimental conditions for mice, an insulating effect of increasing obesit...

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Dermal Adipocytes: From Irrelevance to Metabolic Targets?

Cited by 101 publications

References 64 publications

Connexin 43 Mediates White Adipose Tissue Beiging by Facilitating the Propagation of Sympathetic Neuronal Signals

Connexin 43 Mediates White Adipose Tissue Beiging by Facilitating the Propagation of Sympathetic Neuronal Signals

Sorting out adipocyte precursors and their role in physiology and disease

No insulating effect of obesity

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