The postnatal leptin surge is critical for the transient induction of the developmental beige adipocytes in mice.

The postnatal leptin surge is critical for the transient induction of the developmental beige adipocytes in mice. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Jan 21;: Authors: Wu R, Yu W, Fu L, Li F, Jing J, Cui X, Wang S, Cao Q, Xue B, Shi H Abstract Beige adipocytes have become a promising therapeutic target to combat obesity. Our senior author Xue previously discovered a transient but significant induction of beige adipocytes in mice during early postnatal development in mice, which peaked at postnatal day 20 (P20) and then disappeared thereafter. However, the physiological mechanism underlying the transient induction of the developmental beige cells remains mystery. Interestingly, there exists a postnatal surge of leptin in mice at postnatal day P10 prior to the appearance of the developmental beige adipocytes. Given the neurotropic effect of leptin during neuronal development and its role in activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), we tested the hypothesis that postnatal leptin surge is required for the transient induction of developmental beige adipocytes through sympathetic innervation. Unlike wildtype (WT) mice that were able to acquire the developmentally-induced beige adipocytes at P20, ob/ob mice had much less UCP1 positive multilocular cells in inguinal white adipose tissue at the same age. This was consistent with reduced expression of UCP1 mRNA and protein levels in white fat of ob/ob mice. In contrast, daily injection ...
Source: Am J Physiol Endocri... - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab Source Type: research