AKC Seminar: Brown adipose tissue - keeping us warm and slim?

August Krogh Seminar

Professor Jan Nedergaard

The Wenner-Gren Institute, The Arrhenius Laboratories F3, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Brown adipose tissue was classical a tissue with scientifically interesting bioenergetic features, manifest by the unique presence of uncoupling protein-1 in only this tissue – but it was considered to have no metabolic significance for adult humans.

The acceptance within the last years of its presence in adult humans has intensified interest in its potential ability not only to keep us warm but particularly to burn excess energy, i.e. to keep us slim, and – through its utilization of lipids and glucose – to counteract the metabolic syndrome. The analysis of its function and significance in experimental animals can now likely be extrapolated to humans.

The principal conclusion is that brown adipose tissue is the sole organ responsible for classical nonshivering thermogenesis as well as for diet-induced thermogenesis, and that no other mechanisms for adaptive thermogenesis exists.

The extrapolation is evidently that its activity potentially could be exploited to promote human health.

Time

Friday 25 May 2012 14:00-16:00

Place

Auditorium 1, August Krogh Building, Universitetsparken 13, DK-2100 Copenhagen

For PhD students

PhD students participating in August Krogh seminars receive 0,2 ECTS per seminar

Programme

14:00 – 15:30: Seminar and discussion
15:30 – 16:00: Post seminar servings and socializing 

Registration

Participation is free, but please register here.

Contact

Christian Frøsig

Upcoming seminars

Link to other upcoming seminars.