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Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 29343

Special Issue Editors

1. Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lucio Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 01006 Vitoria, Spain
2. CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
3. BIOARABA Institute of Health, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Interests: molecular nutrition; nutritional and metabolic diseases; adipocytes; hepatocytes; lipogenesis; fat; inflammatory biomarkers; obesity; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; insulin signaling; insulin; glucose metabolism; lipid metabolism; insulin resistance; adipogenesis; adipose tissue; liver
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
1. Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Pharmacy and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria, Spain
2. CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
3. BIOARABA Institute of Health, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Interests: obesity; liver steatosis; insulin resistance; bioactive compounds; mitochondria; autophagy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The existence of two types of adipose tissue has been described. An important role of white adipose tissue is the storage of triglycerides in the body. In addition, it is an important endocrine organ because it produces a great number of adipokines, which have autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine functions. In contrast, the main role of brown adipose tissue is thermogenesis, that is, energy dissipation as heat. It is also able to produce batokines. Thus, both tissues are relevant in obesity development and can be interesting targets for obesity prevention and treatment. In addition, brown adipose tissue activation can contribute to ameliorate insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. On the other hand, the browning process of white adipose tissue, described as the appearance of brite adipocytes in white adipose tissue, can be induced by several nutritional situations.In obese subjects, excess adiposity, altered adipokine production, and low-grade chronic inflammation are described. Furthermore, alterations in brown adipose tissue activity can be observed.

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue "Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue".

We are, therefore, pleased to invite all of you to participate to this Special Issue, " Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0", by presenting your most recent research or ideas focused on the relationship between nutrition and adipose tissues. Experimental papers and up-to-date review articles are all welcome. 

Prof. Dr. María P. Portillo
Dr. Saioa Gómez-Zorita
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • White adipose tissue
  • Brown adipose tissue
  • Brite adipocytes
  • Browning
  • Obesity
  • Inflammation
  • Adipokines
  • Batokines
  • Nutrients
  • Active biomolecules

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4005 KiB  
Article
Browning Effects of a Chronic Pterostilbene Supplementation in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
by Martina La Spina, Eva Galletta, Michele Azzolini, Saioa Gomez Zorita, Sofia Parrasia, Marika Salvalaio, Andrea Salmaso and Lucia Biasutto
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5377; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms20215377 - 29 Oct 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3720
Abstract
Obesity and related comorbidities are a major health concern. The drugs used to treat these conditions are largely inadequate or dangerous, and a well-researched approach based on nutraceuticals would be highly useful. Pterostilbene (Pt), i.e., 3,5-dimethylresveratrol, has been reported to be effective in [...] Read more.
Obesity and related comorbidities are a major health concern. The drugs used to treat these conditions are largely inadequate or dangerous, and a well-researched approach based on nutraceuticals would be highly useful. Pterostilbene (Pt), i.e., 3,5-dimethylresveratrol, has been reported to be effective in animal models of obesity, acting on different metabolic pathways. We investigate here its ability to induce browning of white adipose tissue. Pt (5 µM) was first tested on 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes, and then it was administered (352 µmol/kg/day) to mice fed an obesogenic high-fat diet (HFD) for 30 weeks, starting at weaning. In the cultured adipocytes, the treatment elicited a significant increase of the levels of Uncoupling Protein 1 (UCP1) protein—a key component of thermogenic, energy-dissipating beige/brown adipocytes. In vivo administration antagonized weight increase, more so in males than in females. Analysis of inguinal White Adipose Tissue (WAT) revealed a trend towards browning, with significantly increased transcription of several marker genes (Cidea, Ebf2, Pgc1α, PPARγ, Sirt1, and Tbx1) and an increase in UCP1 protein levels, which, however, did not achieve significance. Given the lack of known side effects of Pt, this study strengthens the candidacy of this natural phenol as an anti-obesity nutraceutical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0)
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22 pages, 9894 KiB  
Article
TNF-α in Combination with Palmitate Enhances IL-8 Production via The MyD88- Independent TLR4 Signaling Pathway: Potential Relevance to Metabolic Inflammation
by Amal Hasan, Nadeem Akhter, Areej Al-Roub, Reeby Thomas, Shihab Kochumon, Ajit Wilson, Merin Koshy, Ebaa Al-Ozairi, Fahd Al-Mulla and Rasheed Ahmad
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(17), 4112; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms20174112 - 23 Aug 2019
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7081
Abstract
Elevated levels of IL-8 (CXCL8) in obesity have been linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The mechanisms that lead to the profound production of IL-8 in obesity remains to be understood. TNF-α and saturated free fatty acids (FFAs) are increased [...] Read more.
Elevated levels of IL-8 (CXCL8) in obesity have been linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The mechanisms that lead to the profound production of IL-8 in obesity remains to be understood. TNF-α and saturated free fatty acids (FFAs) are increased in obese humans and correlate with insulin resistance. Hence, we sought to investigate whether the cooccurrence of TNF-α and FFAs led to increase the production of IL-8 by human monocytes. We found that co-stimulation of human monocytes with palmitate and TNF-α led to increased IL-8 production as compared to those stimulated with palmitate or TNF-α alone. The synergistic production of IL-8 by TNF-α/palmitate was suppressed by neutralizing anti- Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) antibody and by genetic silencing of TLR4. Both MyD88-deficient and MyD88-competent cells responded comparably to TNF-α/Palmitate. However, TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon (TRIF) inhibition or interferon regulatory transcription factor 3 (IRF3) knockdown partly blocked the synergistic production of IL-8. Our human data show that increased adipose tissue TNF-α expression correlated positively with IL-8 expression (r = 0.49, P = 0.001). IL-8 and TNF-α correlated positively with macrophage markers including CD68, CD163 and CD86 in adipose tissue. These findings suggest that the signaling cross-talk between saturated fatty acid palmitate and TNF-α may be a key driver in obesity-associated chronic inflammation via an excessive production of IL-8. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0)
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21 pages, 5693 KiB  
Article
Role of Arginase 2 in Systemic Metabolic Activity and Adipose Tissue Fatty Acid Metabolism in Diet-Induced Obese Mice
by Reem T. Atawia, Haroldo A. Toque, Mohamed M. Meghil, Tyler W. Benson, Nicole K. H. Yiew, Christopher W. Cutler, Neal L. Weintraub, Ruth B. Caldwell and Robert W. Caldwell
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(6), 1462; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms20061462 - 22 Mar 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4822
Abstract
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation and metabolic dysregulation are key components of obesity-induced metabolic disease. Upregulated arginase, a ureahydrolase enzyme with two isoforms (A1-cytosolic and A2-mitochondrial), is implicated in pathologies associated with obesity and diabetes. This study examined A2 involvement in obesity-associated metabolic [...] Read more.
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation and metabolic dysregulation are key components of obesity-induced metabolic disease. Upregulated arginase, a ureahydrolase enzyme with two isoforms (A1-cytosolic and A2-mitochondrial), is implicated in pathologies associated with obesity and diabetes. This study examined A2 involvement in obesity-associated metabolic and vascular disorders. WT and globally deleted A2(−/−) or A1(+/−) mice were fed either a high fat/high sucrose (HFHS) diet or normal diet (ND) for 16 weeks. Increases in body and VAT weight of HFHS-fed WT mice were abrogated in A2−/−, but not A1+/−, mice. Additionally, A2−/− HFHS-fed mice exhibited higher energy expenditure, lower blood glucose, and insulin levels compared to WT HFHS mice. VAT and adipocytes from WT HFHS fed mice showed greater A2 expression and adipocyte size and reduced expression of PGC-1α, PPAR-γ, and adiponectin. A2 deletion blunted these effects, increased levels of active AMPK-α, and upregulated genes involved in fatty acid metabolism. A2 deletion prevented HFHS-induced VAT collagen deposition and inflammation, which are involved in adipocyte metabolic dysfunction. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, impaired by HFHS diet, was significantly preserved in A2−/− mice, but more prominently maintained in A1+/− mice. In summary, A2 is critically involved in HFHS-induced VAT inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0)
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Review

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17 pages, 966 KiB  
Review
Anti-Obesity Effects of Microalgae
by Saioa Gómez-Zorita, Jenifer Trepiana, Maitane González-Arceo, Leixuri Aguirre, Iñaki Milton-Laskibar, Marcela González, Itziar Eseberri, Alfredo Fernández-Quintela and María P. Portillo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(1), 41; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms21010041 - 19 Dec 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7429
Abstract
In recent years, microalgae have attracted great interest for their potential applications in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry as an interesting source of bioactive medicinal products and food ingredients with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. One potential application for bioactive microalgae compounds is [...] Read more.
In recent years, microalgae have attracted great interest for their potential applications in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry as an interesting source of bioactive medicinal products and food ingredients with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. One potential application for bioactive microalgae compounds is obesity treatment. This review gathers together in vitro and in vivo studies which address the anti-obesity effects of microalgae extracts. The scientific literature supplies evidence supporting an anti-obesity effect of several microalgae: Euglena gracilis, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Spirulina maxima, Spirulina platensis, or Nitzschia laevis. Regarding the mechanisms of action, microalgae can inhibit pre-adipocyte differentiation and reduce de novo lipogenesis and triglyceride (TG) assembly, thus limiting TG accumulation. Increased lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation can also be observed. Finally, microalgae can induce increased energy expenditure via thermogenesis activation in brown adipose tissue, and browning in white adipose tissue. Along with the reduction in body fat accumulation, other hallmarks of individuals with obesity, such as enhanced plasma lipid levels, insulin resistance, diabetes, or systemic low-grade inflammation are also improved by microalgae treatment. Not only the anti-obesity effect of microalgae but also the improvement of several comorbidities, previously observed in preclinical studies, has been confirmed in clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0)
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32 pages, 1300 KiB  
Review
miRNAs and Novel Food Compounds Related to the Browning Process
by Silvia Lorente-Cebrián, Katya Herrera, Fermín I. Milagro, Juana Sánchez, Ana Laura de la Garza and Heriberto Castro
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(23), 5998; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms20235998 - 28 Nov 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5567
Abstract
Obesity prevalence is rapidly increasing worldwide. With the discovery of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, BAT activation has emerged as a potential strategy for increasing energy expenditure. Recently, the presence of a third type of fat, referred to as beige or [...] Read more.
Obesity prevalence is rapidly increasing worldwide. With the discovery of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, BAT activation has emerged as a potential strategy for increasing energy expenditure. Recently, the presence of a third type of fat, referred to as beige or brite (brown in white), has been recognized to be present in certain kinds of white adipose tissue (WAT) depots. It has been suggested that WAT can undergo the process of browning in response to stimuli that induce and enhance the expression of thermogenesis: a metabolic feature typically associated with BAT. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small transcriptional regulators that control gene expression in a variety of tissues, including WAT and BAT. Likewise, it was shown that several food compounds could influence miRNAs associated with browning, thus, potentially contributing to the management of excessive adipose tissue accumulation (obesity) through specific nutritional and dietetic approaches. Therefore, this has created significant excitement towards the development of a promising dietary strategy to promote browning/beiging in WAT to potentially contribute to combat the growing epidemic of obesity. For this reason, we summarize the current knowledge about miRNAs and food compounds that could be applied in promoting adipose browning, as well as the cellular mechanisms involved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Brown and White Adipose Tissue 2.0)
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