ArticleMolecular metabolism2019
Heterogeneity in the perirenal region of humans suggests presence of dormant brown adipose tissue that contains brown fat precursor cells.
Article in Molecular metabolism, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thermogenic Differentiation of Human Adipocyte Precursors in Culture: A Systematic Review.Cells · 2025Pooled it
- Towards a consensus atlas of human and mouse adipose tissue at single-cell resolution.Nature metabolism · 2025Guideline
- Stimulation of the beta-2-adrenergic receptor with salbutamol activates human brown adipose tissue.Cell reports. Medicine · 2023Trial
- Chronic mirabegron treatment increases human brown fat, HDL cholesterol, and insulin sensitivity.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2020Trial
- Perirenal Adipose Tissue in Cardiovascular Disease: From Molecular Insights to Therapeutic Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic profiling of human brown and white adipose tissue depots.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Developmental transition of brown adipose tissue from a thermogenic to a lipogenic phenotype in neonatal goats revealed by single-nucleus transcriptomics.Zoological research · 2026Article
- Fueling bone loss: the immunometabolic reprogramming of the bone microenvironment in diabetic osteoporosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Adipose Progenitor Cells in Thermogenesis and Metabolic Regulation.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Retinoid X receptor γ interacts with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ to promote browning during adipose tissue differentiation.Adipocyte · 2025Article
- Perirenal Fat in Disease Progression: From Inflammatory Mediator to Therapeutic Target.International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association · 2025Review
- Effect of β3-adrenergic receptor agonists on [EJNMMI research · 2025Article
- Perirenal fat area is a preoperative predictor of hypertension resolution after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: Generalized additive models.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Article
- The Role of Perirenal Adipose Tissue in Carcinogenesis-From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives.Cancers · 2025Review
- Perirenal fat differs in patients with chronic kidney disease receiving different vitamin D-based treatments: a preliminary study.BMC nephrology · 2025Article
- Single-nucleus transcriptomes reveal the underlying mechanisms of dynamic whitening in thermogenic adipose tissue in goats.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Emerging debates and resolutions in brown adipose tissue research.Cell metabolism · 2025Review
- Research progress of diabetic osteoporosis: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Metabolic Syndrome, Kidney-Related Adiposity, and Kidney Microcirculation: Unraveling the Damage.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIncreasing the amounts of functionally competent brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans has the potential to restore dysfunctional metabolism and counteract obesity. In this study, we aimed to characterize the human perirenal fat depot, and we hypothesized that there would be regional, within-depot differences in the adipose signature depending on local sympathetic activity.
methodsWe characterized fat specimens from four different perirenal regions of adult kidney donors, through a combination of qPCR mapping, immunohistochemical staining, RNA-sequencing, and pre-adipocyte isolation. Candidate gene signatures, separated by adipocyte morphology, were recapitulated in a murine model of unilocular brown fat induced by thermoneutrality and high fat diet.
resultsWe identified widespread amounts of dormant brown adipose tissue throughout the perirenal depot, which was contrasted by multilocular BAT, primarily found near the adrenal gland. Dormant BAT was characterized by a unilocular morphology and a distinct gene expression profile, which partly overlapped with that of subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT). Brown fat precursor cells, which differentiated into functional brown adipocytes were present in the entire perirenal fat depot, regardless of state. We identified SPARC as a candidate adipokine contributing to a dormant BAT state, and CLSTN3 as a novel marker for multilocular BAT.
conclusionsWe propose that perirenal adipose tissue in adult humans consists mainly of dormant BAT and provide a data set for future research on factors which can reactivate dormant BAT into active BAT, a potential strategy for combatting obesity and metabolic disease.
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