Key result
White adipose tissue browning enhances insulin-independent glucose uptake driven by GLUT-1 induction.
Why the study?
Does browning of white adipose tissue improve glucose uptake independently of insulin signaling?
Does browning of white adipose tissue improve glucose uptake independently of insulin signaling?
Browning of white adipose tissue increases glucose uptake through an insulin-independent mechanism involving GLUT-1 induction, suggesting thermogenic fat recruitment improves glucose clearance even in insulin-resistant states.
May aid glucose clearance in insulin resistance; hypothesis-generating in animals, requiring human trials before clinical consideration.
Presence of thermogenically active adipose tissue in adult humans has been inversely associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. While it had been shown that insulin is crucial for the development of classical brown fat, its role in development and function of inducible brown-in-white (brite) adipose tissue is less clear. Here we show that insulin deficiency impaired differentiation of brite adipocytes. However, adrenergic stimulation almost fully induced the thermogenic program under these settings. Although brite differentiation of adipocytes as well as browning of white adipose tissue entailed substantially elevated glucose uptake by adipose tissue, the capacity of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake surprisingly was not higher in the brite state. Notably, in line with the insulin-independent stimulation of glucose uptake, our data revealed that brite recruitment results in induction of solute carrier family 2 (GLUT-1) expression in adipocytes and inguinal WAT. These results for the first time demonstrate that insulin signaling is neither essential for brite recruitment, nor is it improved in cells or tissues upon browning.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Mössenböck et al. (2014) studied Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes (Mouse Models). Browning of white adipose tissue (via CL316243, cold exposure, or cPGI2) vs. Vehicle/White adipose tissue was evaluated on Glucose uptake and GLUT-1 expression. Browning of white adipose tissue enhances glucose uptake independently of insulin signaling, driven in part by the induction of the insulin-independent glucose transporter GLUT-1.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: