Beige adipocyte: A novel adipocyte / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Generally, human adipocytes can be broadly divided into white and brown fat cells. White fat cellsare specialized to store chemical energy and brownadipocytes can produce heat under external stimulation. Recent studies have demonstrated that when mice are exposed to cold or receive β-adrenergic stimulation, some brown-fat-like cells may appear in the subcutaneous white adipose depot, and these cells are called "beige cells". Beige cells have the characteristics of both white and brown fat cels and can transfer to each other. Biologically brown fat in adult humans is similar to beige cels. This paper is to review the research progress on beige cells.