Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jan;1864(1):71-78.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2018.04.013. Epub 2018 Apr 21.

Effects of exercise on brown and beige adipocytes

Revati S Dewal  1 , Kristin I Stanford  2
Affiliations
Review

Effects of exercise on brown and beige adipocytes

Revati S Dewal et al. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2019 Jan.

Abstract

Physical exercise leads to beneficial effects in numerous tissues and organ systems and offers protection against obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have investigated the role of exercise on brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT), and have indicated marked adaptations to each tissue with exercise. Studies investigating the effects of exercise on BAT have produced conflicting results, with some showing an increase in the thermogenic activity of BAT and some demonstrating a decrease in the thermogenic activity of BAT. Human studies have observed a down-regulation of BAT activity (measured by a reduction in glucose uptake) in response to exercise. In WAT, exercise decreases adipocyte size, alters gene expression, and increases mitochondrial activity. Transplantation of exercise-trained subcutaneous WAT (scWAT) improves whole-body metabolic health. In rodents, exercise also results in a beiging of scWAT. Thus, exercise-induced changes to adipose tissue may be part of the mechanism by which exercise improves metabolic health.

Keywords: BAT; Beige adipose tissue; Exercise; Metabolism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Effects of exercise on A) mouse BAT and B) human BAT.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Effects of exercise on A) mouse scWAT and B) human scWAT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Myers J, Exercise and cardiovascular health, Circulation 107 (1) (2003) e2–e5. - PubMed
    1. Crandall JP, et al. , The prevention of type 2 diabetes, Nat. Clin. Pract. Endocrinol. Metab 4 (7) (2008) 382–393. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bonadonna RC, et al. , Transmembrane glucose transport in skeletal muscle of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes, J. Clin. Invest 92 (1) (1993) 486–494. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joyner MJ, Green DJ, Exercise protects the cardiovascular system: effects beyond traditional risk factors, J. Physiol. 587 (Pt 23) (2009) 5551–5558. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goodyear LJ, Kahn BB, Exercise, glucose transport, and insulin sensitivity, Annu. Rev. Med 49 (1998) 235–261. - PubMed

Publication types