Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BATON (Adaptation of human brown adipose tissue to overnutrition)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-04-01 do 2024-03-31
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.
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.
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.