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Brown Adipose Tissue: Function and Development

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Physiology and Physiopathology of Adipose Tissue

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Abstract

Brown adipose tissue is mainly made of particular adipose cells, the brown adipocytes, distinct from white adipocytes. These cells are able to rapidly oxidise fatty acids and produce heat in response to specific physiological situations, instead to phophorylate ADP. Its activity as a powerful fat burner makes this tissue of interest, since potential applications to treat metabolic diseases are expected. Recent data obtained through the use of modern medical imagery revaluate the importance of BAT in human adults.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks his remarkable colleagues and associates : Frédéric Bouillaud, Clotilde Alves-Guerra, Anne-Marie Cassard, Louis Casteilla, Saverio Cinti, Odette Champigny, Maria del Mar Gonzalez-Barroso, Brian Holloway, Marianne Larose, Corinne Lévi-Meyrueis, Bruno Miroux, Claire Pecqueur, Eduardo Rial, Denis Richard and Francesc Villarroya for their collaboration in studying UCP1. The author also thanks the Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique, the Institut pour la Santé et la Recherche Médicale, the European Community, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Servier Institute, the Délégation Générale à l’Armement and the Pierre et Marie Curie et René Descartes Universities for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Biochimie Métabolique, Tour Lavoisier étage 4, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75743, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Daniel Ricquier

  2. Faculté de Médecine de l’Université Paris Descartes, Institut Cochin pièce 3013, 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014, Paris, France

    Daniel Ricquier

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  1. Daniel Ricquier
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Correspondence to Daniel Ricquier .

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  1. Rue de la Chine 4, Paris, 75020, France

    Jean-Philippe Bastard

  2. Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France

    Bruno Fève

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Ricquier, D. (2013). Brown Adipose Tissue: Function and Development. In: Bastard, JP., Fève, B. (eds) Physiology and Physiopathology of Adipose Tissue. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0343-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0343-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Paris

  • Print ISBN: 978-2-8178-0342-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-2-8178-0343-2

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