TY - JOUR
T1 - Brown adipose tissue is linked to a distinct thermoregulatory response to mild cold in people
AU - Chondronikola, Maria
AU - Volpi, Elena
AU - Børsheim, Elisabet
AU - Chao, Tony
AU - Porter, Craig
AU - Annamalai, Palam
AU - Yfanti, Christina
AU - Labbe, Sebastien M.
AU - Hurren, Nicholas M.
AU - Malagaris, Ioannis
AU - Cesani, Fernardo
AU - Sidossis, Labros S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Chondronikola, Volpi, Børsheim, Chao, Porter, Annamalai, Yfanti, Labbe, Hurren, Malagaris, Cesani and Sidossis.
PY - 2016/4/19
Y1 - 2016/4/19
N2 - Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in thermoregulation in rodents. Its role in temperature homeostasis in people is less studied. To this end, we recruited 18 men [8 subjects with no/minimal BAT activity (BAT-) and 10 with pronounced BAT activity (BAT+)]. Each volunteer participated in a 6 h, individualized, non-shivering cold exposure protocol. BAT was quantified using positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Body core and skin temperatures were measured using a telemetric pill and wireless thermistors, respectively. Core body temperature decreased during cold exposure in the BAT- group only (-0.34°C, 95% CI: -0.6 to -0.1, p = 0.03), while the cold-induced change in core temperature was significantly different between BAT+ and BAT- subjects (BAT+ vs. BAT-, 0.43°C, 95% CI: 0.20-0.65, p = 0.0014). BAT volume was associated with the cold-induced change in core temperature (p = 0.01) even after adjustment for age and adiposity. Compared to the BAT- group, BAT+ subjects tolerated a lower ambient temperature (BAT-: 20.6 ± 0.3°C vs. BAT+: 19.8 ± 0.3°C, p = 0.035) without shivering. The cold-induced change in core temperature (r = 0.79, p = 0.001) and supraclavicular temperature (r = 0.58, p = 0.014) correlated with BAT volume, suggesting that these non-invasive measures can be potentially used as surrogate markers of BAT when other methods to detect BAT are not available or their use is not warranted. These results demonstrate a physiologically significant role for BAT in thermoregulation in people.
AB - Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in thermoregulation in rodents. Its role in temperature homeostasis in people is less studied. To this end, we recruited 18 men [8 subjects with no/minimal BAT activity (BAT-) and 10 with pronounced BAT activity (BAT+)]. Each volunteer participated in a 6 h, individualized, non-shivering cold exposure protocol. BAT was quantified using positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Body core and skin temperatures were measured using a telemetric pill and wireless thermistors, respectively. Core body temperature decreased during cold exposure in the BAT- group only (-0.34°C, 95% CI: -0.6 to -0.1, p = 0.03), while the cold-induced change in core temperature was significantly different between BAT+ and BAT- subjects (BAT+ vs. BAT-, 0.43°C, 95% CI: 0.20-0.65, p = 0.0014). BAT volume was associated with the cold-induced change in core temperature (p = 0.01) even after adjustment for age and adiposity. Compared to the BAT- group, BAT+ subjects tolerated a lower ambient temperature (BAT-: 20.6 ± 0.3°C vs. BAT+: 19.8 ± 0.3°C, p = 0.035) without shivering. The cold-induced change in core temperature (r = 0.79, p = 0.001) and supraclavicular temperature (r = 0.58, p = 0.014) correlated with BAT volume, suggesting that these non-invasive measures can be potentially used as surrogate markers of BAT when other methods to detect BAT are not available or their use is not warranted. These results demonstrate a physiologically significant role for BAT in thermoregulation in people.
KW - Body core temperature
KW - Brown adipose tissue
KW - Cold exposure
KW - Supraclavicular skin temperature
KW - Thermoregulation
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U2 - 10.3389/fphys.2016.00129
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2016.00129
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84967154773
SN - 1664-042X
VL - 7
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
JF - Frontiers in Physiology
IS - APR
M1 - 129
ER -