Skip to main content
PMC home page
Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1979 Nov 17;121(10):1361–1364.

Obesity may be due to a malfunctioning of brown fat.

J Himms-Hagen
PMCID: PMC1704532  PMID: 391377

Abstract

Recent basic research on the functioning of brown fat, a heat-producing tissue, has been fitted together with research on obesity to provide an exciting and challenging new approach to the study of the cause of obesity and could serve as a starting point for the development of new modes of treatment. Recent studies on brown adipose tissue have shown that a defect in this tissue is one probable cause of obesity.

Full text

PDF
1361

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aherne W., Hull D. Brown adipose tissue and heat production in the newborn infant. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1966 Jan;91(1):223–234. doi: 10.1002/path.1700910126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Desautels M., Himms-Hagen J. Roles of noradrenaline and protein synthesis in the cold-induced increase in purine nucleotide binding by rat brown adipose tissue mitochondria. Can J Biochem. 1979 Jun;57(6):968–976. doi: 10.1139/o79-118. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Desautels M., Zaror-Behrens G., Himms-Hagen J. Increased purine nucleotide binding, altered polypeptide composition, and thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue mitochondria of cold-acclimated rats. Can J Biochem. 1978 Jun;56(6):378–383. doi: 10.1139/o78-060. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Flatmark T., Pedersen J. I. Brown adipose tissue mitochondria. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1975 Mar 31;416(1):53–103. doi: 10.1016/0304-4173(75)90013-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Foster D. O., Frydman M. L. Comparison of microspheres and 86Rb+ as tracers of the distribution of cardiac output in rats indicates invalidity of 86Rb+-based measurements. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1978 Feb;56(1):97–109. doi: 10.1139/y78-014. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Heaton G. M., Wagenvoord R. J., Kemp A., Jr, Nicholls D. G. Brown-adipose-tissue mitochondria: photoaffinity labelling of the regulatory site of energy dissipation. Eur J Biochem. 1978 Jan 16;82(2):515–521. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1978.tb12045.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Heaton J. M. The distribution of brown adipose tissue in the human. J Anat. 1972 May;112(Pt 1):35–39. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Himms-Hagen J., Desautels M. A mitochondrial defect in brown adipose tissue of the obese (ob/ob) mouse: reduced binding of purine nucleotides and a failure to respond to cold by an increase in binding. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1978 Jul 28;83(2):628–634. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(78)91036-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. James W. P., Trayhurn P. An integrated view of the metabolic and genetic basis for obesity. Lancet. 1976 Oct 9;2(7989):770–773. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(76)90602-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Jung R. T., Shetty P. S., James W. P., Barrand M. A., Callingham B. A. Reduced thermogenesis in obesity. Nature. 1979 May 24;279(5711):322–323. doi: 10.1038/279322a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jéquier E., Gygax P. H., Pittet P., Vannotti A. Increased thermal body insulation: relationship to the development of obesity. J Appl Physiol. 1974 Jun;36(6):674–678. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1974.36.6.674. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Landsberg L., Young J. B. Fasting, feeding and regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. N Engl J Med. 1978 Jun 8;298(23):1295–1301. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197806082982306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mann G. V. The influence of obesity on health (first of two parts). N Engl J Med. 1974 Jul 25;291(4):178–185. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197407252910405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Merklin R. J. Growth and distribution of human fetal brown fat. Anat Rec. 1974 Mar;178(3):637–645. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091780311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Nicholls D. G. Hamster brown-adipose-tissue mitochondria. Purine nucleotide control of the ion conductance of the inner membrane, the nature of the nucleotide binding site. Eur J Biochem. 1976 Feb 16;62(2):223–228. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1976.tb10151.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rafael J., Heldt H. W. Binding of guanine nucleotides to the outer surface of the inner membrane of guinea pig brown fat mitochondria in correlation with the thermogenic activity of the tissue. FEBS Lett. 1976 Apr 1;63(2):304–308. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(76)80117-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ricquier D., Kader J. C. Mitochondrial protein alteration in active brown fat: a soidum dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic study. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1976 Dec 6;73(3):577–583. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(76)90849-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tanuma Y., Ohata M., Ito T., Yokochi C. Possible function of human brown adipose tissue as suggested by observation on perirenal brown fats from necropsy cases of variable age groups. Arch Histol Jpn. 1976 May;39(2):117–145. doi: 10.1679/aohc1950.39.117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Tanuma Y., Tamamoto M., Ito T., Yokochi C. The occurrence of brown adipose tissue in perirenal fat in Japanese. Arch Histol Jpn. 1975 Jun;38(1):43–70. doi: 10.1679/aohc1950.38.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Trayhurn P., James W. P. Thermoregulation and non-shivering thermogenesis in the genetically obese (ob/ob) mouse. Pflugers Arch. 1978 Feb 22;373(2):189–193. doi: 10.1007/BF00584859. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Young J. B., Landsberg L. Effect of diet and cold exposure on norepinephrine turnover in pancreas and liver. Am J Physiol. 1979 May;236(5):E524–E533. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1979.236.5.E524. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Medical Association Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Medical Association

RESOURCES