| First Author | Sun K | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | Mol Metab | Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 474-83 |
| PubMed ID | 24944907 | Mgi Jnum | J:223176 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5648164 | Doi | 10.1016/j.molmet.2014.03.010 |
| Citation | Sun K, et al. (2014) Brown adipose tissue derived VEGF-A modulates cold tolerance and energy expenditure. Mol Metab 3(4):474-83 |
| abstractText | We recently reported that local overexpression of VEGF-A in white adipose tissue (WAT) protects against diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunction. The observation that VEGF-A induces a "brown adipose tissue (BAT)-like" phenotype in WAT prompted us to further explore the direct function of VEGF-A in BAT. We utilized a doxycycline (Dox)-inducible, brown adipocyte-specific VEGF-A transgenic overexpression model to assess direct effects of VEGF-A in BAT in vivo. We observed that BAT-specific VEGF-A expression increases vascularization and up-regulates expression of both UCP1 and PGC-1alpha in BAT. As a result, the transgenic mice show increased thermogenesis during chronic cold exposure. In diet-induced obese mice, introducing VEGF-A locally in BAT rescues capillary rarefaction, ameliorates brown adipocyte dysfunction, and improves deleterious effects on glucose and lipid metabolism caused by a high-fat diet challenge. These results demonstrate a direct positive role of VEGF-A in the activation and expansion of BAT. |
