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Review
. 2024 Jun 16;17(6):790.
doi: 10.3390/ph17060790.

White-to-Beige and Back: Adipocyte Conversion and Transcriptional Reprogramming

Stanislav Boychenko  1 , Vera S Egorova  2 , Andrew Brovin  1 , Alexander D Egorov  1
Affiliations
Review

White-to-Beige and Back: Adipocyte Conversion and Transcriptional Reprogramming

Stanislav Boychenko et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

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.

Keywords: PPAR gamma; adipogenesis; adipose browning; adipose tissue; anti-obesity; aryl hydrocarbon receptor; endocrine disruptors; phytochemicals; thermogenesis; transcription factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The scheme of adipocyte differentiation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical substances that affect white-to-beige adipocyte conversion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
AAV vectors in white-to-beige conversion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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