PET/MRI-Evaluated Activation of Brown Adipose Tissue via Cold Exposure Impacts Lipid Metabolism

• Published in: Metabolites Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 456
• Main Authors: Miniewska, Katarzyna, Maliszewska, Katarzyna, Pietrowska, Karolina, Godzień, Joanna, Łabieniec, Łukasz, Mojsak, Małgorzata, Krętowski, Adam, Ciborowski, Michał
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19.05.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adipose tissue (brown); Annotations; Body fat; brown adipose tissue; cold exposure; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Glucose; Insulin; Ions; Leptin; Linoleic acid; Lipid metabolism; Magnetic resonance imaging; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Obesity; Oleic acid; Plasma; plasma lipids; Sphinganine; Sphingosine 1-phosphate; Tomography; Tumor necrosis factor-α; untargeted metabolomics; Weight control; untargeted metabolomics; brown adipose tissue; cold exposure; plasma lipids
• ISSN: 2218-1989; 2218-1989
• DOI: 10.3390/metabo12050456

Although brown adipose tissue (BAT) is considered to play a protective role against obesity and type 2 diabetes, the mechanisms of its activation and associations with clinical parameters are not well described. Male adults underwent a 2 h cold exposure (CE) to activate BAT and, based on the results of PET/MRI performed after the CE, were divided into BAT(+) and BAT(-) groups. During the CE procedure, blood samples were collected and alterations in plasma metabolome in both groups were investigated using LC-MS. Additionally, associations between clinical factors and BAT were examined. Moreover, levels of glucose, insulin, leptin, TNF-α, FGF21, and FABP4 were assessed in serum samples. In the BAT(+) group, levels of LPC(17:0), LPE(20:4), LPE(22:4), LPE(22:6), DHA, linoleic acid, and oleic acid increased during CE, whereas levels of sphinganine-phosphate and sphingosine-1-phosphate decreased. Levels of LPE(O-18:0), 9-HpODE, and oleic acid were elevated, while the level of LPE(20:5) was reduced in BAT(+) compared to BAT(-) subjects. AUCs of LPC(18:2), LPC(O-18:2)/LPC(P-18:1), and SM(d32:2) negatively correlated with BAT. In the BAT(+) group, the concentration of FABP4 during and after CE was decreased compared to the basal level. No alterations were observed in the BAT(-) group. In conclusion, using untargeted metabolomics, we proved that the plasma metabolome is affected by cold-induced BAT activation.