Brown adipose tissue improves whole-body glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in humans

Maria Chondronikola, Elena Volpi, Elisabet Børsheim, Craig Porter, Palam Annamalai, Sven Enerbäck, Martin E. Lidell, Manish K. Saraf, Sebastien M. Labbe, Nicholas M. Hurren, Christina Yfanti, Tony Chao, Clark R. Andersen, Fernando Cesani, Hal Hawkins, Labros S. Sidossis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

614 Scopus citations

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has attracted scientific interest as an antidiabetic tissue owing to its ability to dissipate energy as heat. Despite a plethora of data concerning the role of BAT in glucose metabolism in rodents, the role of BAT (if any) in glucose metabolism in humans remains unclear. To investigate whether BAT activation alters whole-body glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in humans, we studied seven BAT-positive (BAT+) men and five BAT-negative (BAT-) men under thermoneutral conditions and after prolonged (5-8 h) cold exposure (CE). The two groups were similar in age, BMI, and adiposity. CE significantly increased resting energy expenditure, whole-body glucose disposal, plasma glucose oxidation, and insulin sensitivity in the BAT+ group only. These results demonstrate a physiologically significant role of BAT in whole-body energy expenditure, glucose homeostasis, and insulin sensitivity in humans, and support the notion that BAT may function as an antidiabetic tissue in humans.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4089-4099
Number of pages11
JournalDiabetes
Volume63
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

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