Garron T Dodd, Stephanie Decherf, Kim Loh, Stephanie E Simonds, Florian Wiede, Eglantine Balland, Troy L Merry, Heike Münzberg, Zhong-Yin Zhang, Barbara B Kahn, Benjamin G Neel, Kendra K Bence, Zane B Andrews, Michael A Cowley, Tony Tiganis
The primary task of white adipose tissue (WAT) is the storage of lipids. However, "beige" adipocytes also exist in WAT. Beige adipocytes burn fat and dissipate the energy as heat, but their abundance is diminished in obesity. Stimulating beige adipocyte development, or WAT browning, increases energy expenditure and holds potential for combating metabolic disease and obesity. Here, we report that insulin and leptin act together on hypothalamic neurons to promote WAT browning and weight loss. Deletion of the phosphatases PTP1B and TCPTP enhanced insulin and leptin signaling in proopiomelanocortin neurons and prevented diet-induced obesity by increasing WAT browning and energy expenditure...
January 15, 2015: Cell