Hormonal
Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) is molecularly composed of beige/brite cells rather than classical brown adipocytes, as evidenced by the abundant expression of beige-selective genes (e.g., CITED1, HoxC8/9) and the near-undetectable expression of classical brown fat markers (e.g., Zic1, Lhx8).
Your body's brown fat is likely 'beige' fat, meaning it shares characteristics with fat that can be induced in white fat deposits. This suggests that strategies to 'browns' white fat (like cold exposure or specific hormonal pathways) might be more relevant for humans than trying to activate pre-existing classical brown fat, which appears to be minimal or absent in adults.
To our surprise, nearly all the human BAT abundantly expressed beige cell-selective genes, but the expression of classical brown fat-selective genes were nearly undetectable... These data indicate that human BAT may be primary composed of beige/brite cells.
Why this rating
High-quality molecular and histological evidence from multiple human depots and mouse models, though limited by small sample size (n=13) and post-mortem nature.
Source
Human BAT Possesses Molecular Signatures That Resemble Beige/Brite Cells
Louis Z. Sharp et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0049452
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