Anti-obesity: Targeting Brown and Beige Adipocytes

Obesity epidemic burdens the world in a growing intensity. With more food supply, energy intake, and relatively less activities, the mean body weight and adiposity of population has become more severe than decades ago. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for many people with high obesity risk to keep a healthy diet and lifestyle. Under such circumstances, the activation of thermogenic adipocytes, including brown and beige adipocytes, is considered to be a promising therapeutic strategy against obesity and metabolic diseases, for they are potent for dissipating excessive calories as heat and increasing energy expenditure. To date, a number of genes and pathways have been identified to be critical for the development and function of the thermogenic adipocytes; however, there are few safe and effective clinical strategies targeting the thermogenic adipocytes to combat obesity.

This Research Topic aims to provide new insights on the therapeutic application of thermogenic adipocytes towards the treatment of obesity, and the underlying mechanisms.

We welcome Original Research articles and Reviews on the subtopics below, with a particular interest on human subject research, although animal and co-culture studies will also be considered.

- Novel intrinsic molecular mechanisms of brown/beige adipocytes differentiation, including transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic regulators;
- Crosstalk of metabolic organs, brown/beige adipocytes and other different cell types such as neuron, immune cells, adipokine/hepatokine;
- Gut microbiota and brown/beige adipocytes;
- Novel translational strategies to activate brown/beige adipocytes with potential molecules, including natural compounds, endogenous or microbiome metabolites, and novel tools such as nanoparticles.