Adaptation of human brown adipose tissue to overnutrition

Project Information

BATON

Grant agreement ID: 101028941

DOI

10.3030/101028941

Project terminated on 31 August 2025

EC signature date 6 April 2021

Start date 1 April 2022

End date 19 September 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 250 497,60

EU contribution

€ 250 497,60

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BATON (Adaptation of human brown adipose tissue to overnutrition)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is highly thermogenic and produces heat to maintain mammals’ body temperature. BAT’s role in adaptation to overfeeding and protecting from diet-induced obesity is well established in rodents. A decade ago, several research teams confirmed the presence of metabolically active BAT in human adults. The EU-funded BATON project develops a new method of precise measurement of human BAT volume and thermogenic capacity. The approach is based on recent advances in human BAT metabolism and will involve a randomized crossover study with 10 healthy adults. The developed method will be applied in the proof-of-concept study of BAT volume and thermogenic capacity changes in response to overfeeding.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The first part of the project has been successfully completed. Overall, the results of the study performed within WP2, refuted the initial hypotheses: 48 µg of inhaled formoterol does not increase BAT thermogenesis, nor increase whole-body energy expenditure. These results have been disseminated in scientific conferences and a manuscript reporting these results in detail is in preparation.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

After having completed its method-development phase, the project will now switch towards investigating the adaptations suffered by human BAT in response to a sustained alteration of energy balance. This will help understanding the role of this tissue in human weight management.

Poster sumarizing the main results of experiment 1