SFEBES2026 Poster Presentations Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes (68 abstracts)
Exploring brown adipose tissue-mediated systemic metabolism using network analysis of total-body PET/CT scans
María Paula Huertas Caycedo 1 , Calum Gray 2 , Kayla Bell 3 , Keira Young 3 , Maria Chondronikola 4,5 , Adriana Tavares 1 , Simon R. Cherry 5 , Karla J. Suchacki 1,3 & Roland H. Stimson 1
1University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 2Edinburgh Imaging Facility, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 3Scotland’s Rural College, The Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 4Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; 5Department of Radiology, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, USA
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) generates heat through non-shivering thermogenesis, primarily when activated by cold exposure. The presence of BAT, identified by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) at room temperature, is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and wider cardiometabolic health. However, the mechanisms mediating this beneficial effect are unclear and may be due to crosstalk between BAT and other organs. We hypothesised that adults with and without detectable BAT would display different organ-level 18F-FDG-uptake patterns, reflecting differences in systemic metabolism. Thirty total-body static 18F-FDG PET/CT scans were analysed from 15 BAT-positive (64.2 ± 13.9 years; 25.0 ± 5.4 kg/m2) and 15 BAT-negative (64.2 ± 14.4 years; 26.4 ± 5.1 kg/m2) age, BMI, and sex-matched patients. BAT was identified manually using BARCIST criteria, and >140 tissues were segmented per scan using the Multi-Organ Objective Segmentation Engine (MOOSE) tool. Bone marrow adipose tissue, red marrow and bone were segmented using Hounsfield Unit thresholds. Standardised uptake values (SUVs) were extracted from PET data and used to compare groups, followed by exploration through principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation-based networks in Graphia. Organ-specific 18F-FDG SUVs in key cardiometabolic tissues such as skeletal muscle, liver, white adipose tissue, and the heart were similar between groups. PCA revealed that bone and marrow tissues primarily drove systemic variance in glucose metabolism, but BAT status did not account for variation in the principal components. Network analysis further revealed that BAT-positive participants exhibited more inter-organ correlations in glucose uptake, involving muscle, bone, and heart. In contrast, BAT-negative participants showed correlations largely confined to individual organ systems. In conclusion, while BAT presence was not associated with organ-specific differences in glucose uptake, it was linked to a more integrated metabolic network. Further studies under cold stimulation and/or dynamic imaging may better characterise BAT’s systemic influence.
Volume 117
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Endocrine Abstracts
ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)
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