Endocrine Abstracts

Three major observations triggered a revitalized interest in the role of brown fat in energy balance and the metabolic benefits of this thermogenic tissue in humans. Firstly, progenitors of brown adipocytes derive from the muscle lineage whereas recruitable brown-like adipocytes in white fat, termed brite (brown-in-white), can be of other developmental origin. Secondly, healthy adult humans have metabolically powerful brown/brite fat that is activated by acute cold exposure, &...

Objectives: The melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) belonging to the large superfamily of G-protein coupled receptors plays a crucial role in hypothalamic weight regulation. In approximately 3–5% of investigated obese patients inactivating MC4R mutations are the underlying molecular cause for early onset obesity. Functional characterisation revealed for specific partial loss of function MC4R mutations that restoration of receptor function is possible by usage of highly potent ...