Affiliation:
1. Gene Therapy Department, Center for Translational Medicine, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sirius, Russia
2. Biotechnology Department, Center for Translational Medicine, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sirius, Russia
Abstract
Obesity has become a pandemic, as currently more than half a billion people worldwide are obese. The etiology of obesity is multifactorial, and combines a contribution of hereditary and behavioral factors, such as nutritional inadequacy, along with the influences of environment and reduced physical activity. Two types of adipose tissue widely known are white and brown. While white adipose tissue functions predominantly as a key energy storage, brown adipose tissue has a greater mass of mitochondria and expresses the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) gene, which allows thermogenesis and rapid catabolism. Even though white and brown adipocytes are of different origin, activation of the brown adipocyte differentiation program in white adipose tissue cells forces them to transdifferentiate into “beige” adipocytes, characterized by thermogenesis and intensive lipolysis. Nowadays, researchers in the field of small molecule medicinal chemistry and gene therapy are making efforts to develop new drugs that effectively overcome insulin resistance and counteract obesity. Here, we discuss various aspects of white-to-beige conversion, adipose tissue catabolic re-activation, and non-shivering thermogenesis.
Funder
Russian Science Foundation and Kuban Science Foundation
Reference280 articles.
1. (2024, May 10). At Least One in Eight People Now Obese. Available online: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1147107.
2. Worldwide Trends in Underweight and Obesity from 1990 to 2022: A Pooled Analysis of 3663 Population-Representative Studies with 222 Million Children, Adolescents, and Adults;Phelps;Lancet,2024
3. Body-Mass Index and All-Cause Mortality: Individual-Participant-Data Meta-Analysis of 239 Prospective Studies in Four Continents;Bhupathiraju;Lancet,2016
4. Global, Regional, and National Burden of Diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with Projections of Prevalence to 2050: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021;Ong;Lancet,2023
5. Overweight and Obesity as Risk Factors for COVID-19-Associated Hospitalisations and Death: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis;Sawadogo;BMJ Nutr. Prev. Health,2022