[초청강연] Adipogenesis and age-related adiposity

      Abstract

Our research at City of Hope focuses on the integrative physiology of adipose (fat) tissue. Specifically, we are interested in the plasticity and function of adipose tissue in health and metabolic diseases.

Part I: Thermogenesis in brown adipocytes is a well-established process since it exerts metabolically beneficial effects on whole-body energy homeostasis. Brown adipose tissue has been assumed to have a homogeneous population of brown adipocytes. The thermogenic activity of brown adipose tissue is also believed to be homogeneously regulated in all brown adipocytes. We recently identified two distinct brown adipocyte subpopulations with distinct molecular and metabolic features, as well as differential thermogenic activities, co-existing in the brown adipose tissue. The dynamic interconversion between these two brown adipocyte subpopulations upon environmental temperature fluctuations provides new insights into the regulation of brown adipose tissue thermogenic activity.

Part II: The average white adipose tissue mass in adults increases dramatically with age, and older people often suffer from visceral obesity and related adverse metabolic disorders. Unfortunately, how aging leads to white adipose tissue accumulation is poorly understood. We recently identified a novel, age-specific adipocyte progenitor population that has unique cellular and molecular features, which may contribute greatly to white adipose tissue expansion during aging. Our findings define a new fundamental mechanism involved in age-related obesity.