Brown adipose tissue revival

Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ in mammals. The brown adipocytes burn fatty acids and produce heat when the organism needs to maintain body temperature around 37 degrees C. The thermogenic mechanism is specific and implicates the abundant mitochondria present in brown adipocytes. Uniquely, respiration of brown adipocyte mitochondria is not coupled to ATP synthesis. This respiration uncoupling is due to a specific proton transporter in the, mitochondrial membrane referred to as UCP1 (Uncoupling Protein 1). The activity of BAT in humans was not well accepted in spite of a few ancient data based on biochemical analysis. Recent data from PET-CT scan analysis established the presence of BAT in our species and in particular in infants and young adults.