A recent study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, defines a mechanism that controls if a precursor fat cell matures into a brown fat or white fat cell. Why would this matter?
Most people are undergoing a constant battle to get rid of fat. But, fat cells aren't all the same. Two forms of fat cells exist; white fat and brown fat. White fat is the stuff that stores the excess calories and energy that we taken in, making sure we have enough reserves for lean times when food is scarce. White fat accumulates around the mid-section of our body, along the butt and thighs, and elsewhere. Brown fat is quite different. Brown fat generates heat and burns energy. These cells are filled with energy producing iron-filled mitochondria, hence the brown color, and generates heat for the organism. Brown fat, found mostly in infants (along the spine and shoulders of the back) and hibernating mammals. It's main function is to provide heat to avoid hypothermia in mammals that don't shiver. In adult humans, the amount of brown fat is quite low.
Dr Seale and colleagues have now shown that a protein called early B cell factor-2 or Ebf2 acts like a switch during fat cell development that controls which type of fat cell emerges, a brown fat or white fat cell. It turns out that Ebf2 binds to the promoter of genes involved in brown fat development. This results in the recruitment and binding of another protein, PPAR, and the subsequent expression of these genes. This study also showed that overexpression of Ebf2 in white fat cells converts into brown fat cells. Understanding how these cells develop may help develop new ways to control the amount of white fat cells in the body to help fight obesity.
http://www.alnmag.com/news/how-brown-fat-cells-develop-mice?et_cid=3143363&et_rid=454985655&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.alnmag.com%2fnews%2fhow-brown-fat-cells-develop-mice
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