Joslin study reveals how a specific fat type can protect against weight gain an...( Joslin and elsewhere have uncovered the...)

Joslin and elsewhere have uncovered the differing functions of the two types of body fatwhite and brown. White fat, the more familiar form of fat that accumulates in the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and under the skin, stores energy for future needs, whereas brown fat or brown adipose tissue (BAT) burns energy and generates heat.

White fat, which is packed with large lipid droplets, is deposited under the skin, around internal organs and as visceral fat one of the most harmful forms of abdominal fat. Brown fat, on the other hand, contains small lipid droplets tucked behind tiny energy factories called mitochondria. These cells are most prevalent in the necks of infants and between the shoulder blades in mice to help their bodies generate heat, but tend to mostly disappear by adulthood. A 2005 Joslin study by Dr. Kahn and his colleagues discovered genes that control the creation of the precursor cells that give rise to brown fat cells. This latest study shows that brown fat may not disappear in all adult animals and that little collections of brown fat may account for why some mice are protected from obesity and diabetes and others are not.

This study began by exploring differences in basal energy expenditure (the amount of energy required to maintain the body's normal metabolic activity, such as respiration and maintenance of body temperature) and its role in the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome in two different genetic strains of mice: the B6 mouse and the 129 mouse. The B6 mouse is one of the most commonly used strains in metabolic research and an established model for diet-induced obesity.

When placed on a high-fat diet, the B6 mouse develops severe obesity, high blood glucose and insulin resistance with extremely high insulin levels. By contrast, the 129 mouse gains on average 30 to 50 percent less weight on either a high-or low-fat diet than the B6 mouse and has been considered resistant to dietary induced obesity and g
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Contact: Marjorie Dwyer
marjorie.dwyer@joslin.harvard.edu
617-732-2415
Joslin Diabetes Center
1-Mar-2007

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