Key result
Brown adipose tissue activators emerge as potential obesity therapies by enhancing adaptive thermogenesis.
Why the study?
Brown adipose tissue-activating agents could represent an alternative option to appetite inhibitors and nutrient absorption inhibitors for obesity treatment.
Pharmacological modulation of adaptive thermogenesis through brown adipose tissue activation and white adipose tissue browning offers a potential therapeutic avenue for obesity and associated cardiometabolic complications.
Should not yet change obesity management; leaves open thermogenic agents' cardiometabolic role pending trials.
BACKGROUND: Adaptive thermogenesis represents the main mechanism through which the body generates heat in response to external stimuli, a phenomenon that includes shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis. The non-shivering thermogenesis is mainly exploited by adipose tissue characterized by a brown aspect, which specializes in energy dissipation. A decreased amount of brown adipose tissue has been observed in ageing and chronic illnesses such as obesity, a worldwide health problem characterized by dysfunctional adipose tissue expansion and associated cardiometabolic complications. In the last decades, the discovery of a trans-differentiation mechanism ("browning") within white adipose tissue depots, leading to the generation of brown-like cells, allowed to explore new natural and synthetic compounds able to favour this process and thus enhance thermogenesis with the aim of counteracting obesity. Based on recent findings, brown adipose tissue-activating agents could represent another option in addition to appetite inhibitors and inhibitors of nutrient absorption for obesity treatment. PURPOSE: This review investigates the main molecules involved in the physiological (e.g. incretin hormones) and pharmacological (e.g. β3-adrenergic receptors agonists, thyroid receptor agonists, farnesoid X receptor agonists, glucagon-like peptide-1, and glucagon receptor agonists) modulation of adaptive thermogenesis and the signalling mechanisms involved.
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Genchi et al. (2023) conducted a review in Obesity. Thermogenic drugs (e.g., β3-adrenergic receptor agonists, thyroid receptor agonists, FXR agonists, GLP-1R agonists) was evaluated. Brown adipose tissue-activating agents, including incretin hormones and β3-adrenergic receptor agonists, represent potential therapeutic options for obesity management by enhancing adaptive thermogenesis.
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