Study the roles of renin-angiotensin system and thyroid hormone in white adipocyte browning

• Main Author: Nan, Sheng
• Other Authors: Chen Peng
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Bioengineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/68484
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Obesity has become a worldwide health problem which is one of the risk factors for various metabolic diseases, and the research on the pathogenesis of obesity and discovery of new therapeutic strategies is the key to the treatment of diseases above. This project is mainly study adipose renin-angiotensin system and thyroid hormone in white adipocytes browning. Compared with white adipocytes whose major function is to regulate metabolism and storage of energy, the amount of brown adipose tissues found in human bodies is inversely correlated with aging and body mass index (BMI) , indicating that already low level of BAT is diminished further in obese patients. Adipose reninangiotensin system (RAS) can critically regulate the development and thermogenic activity of brown adipocytes and browning of white adipocytes (collectively called as browning). Thyroid hormone, mainly triiodothyronine (T3), also has a significant role in regulating energy and lipid metabolism. In this study, we found that activation of AT2 receptor, beta3 receptor, thyroid receptor increases the expression of UCP-1, which is the symbol of white adipocyte browning. Interestingly, T3 has a positive effect on AT2 receptor expression. These suggest that AT2 and thyroid receptors have synergistic role in white adipose browning. This study may make contribution to the potential therapeutic target for obesity or related metabolic diseases.