[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7090\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018Browning\u2019 white fat cells opens new avenue to obesity prevention\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Mirko Trajkovski from the Laboratory of Metabolic Health at Geneva University, Switzerland, believes researchers are well on their way to cracking this game-changing conversion process. \u2018By manipulating the body\u2019s fat stores, we can make big progress in the fight against obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 (lifestyle-related) diabetes,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe body stores two main types of fat: white and brown. White dominates. It sits on our waist, hips and thighs and stores energy, releasing fatty acids when fuel is required. Eating in excess over a prolonged period causes white fat cells to swell, resulting in obesity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrown fat has an opposing function to white, transferring energy from food into heat. Brown fat, when fully activated, burns 20% of our food intake and protects us from diet-induced obesity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESadly, each of us carries only a tiny amount of brown fat (around 50g) and this doesn\u2019t change over our lifetimes. However, hope is now emerging in the form of a third kind of fat \u2013 beige. Beige fat lives within white fat tissue and works in a way that closely mimics brown fat, burning calories to generate heat. What makes beige fat special is its plasticity \u2013 when the circumstances are right, a beige cell will be fabricated through the \u2018browning\u2019 of a white fat cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image credit - Horizon\u0022 height=\u0022221\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/brown-fat-factoid-982.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image credit - Horizon\u0022 width=\u0022982\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage credit - Horizon\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo what are the right circumstances, and how can they be harnessed to reduce obesity-related disease? Research suggests that exercise, gastric bypass surgery and prolonged exposure to the cold all stimulate the production of beige fat \u2013 meaning that the body is more efficient at burning energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENegative energy balance\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The common denominator seems to be a negative energy balance,\u2019 said Prof. Trajkovski. \u2018Energy loss is higher than energy gain.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe ran a project called MIRBATWAT, which investigated a chain of events by which white fat cells turn into beige fat cells. One set of experiments on mice found that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1550413116303746#ack0010\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Erestricting the amount of calories they ate\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 again creating a negative energy balance in the body \u2013 led to the browning of white fat cells through increased activity in the body\u2019s innate immune response, which is associated with inflammation reduction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a follow-up paper, he showed that the ecosystem of bacteria living in our guts, known as the microbiome, also \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1550413118305060\u0022\u003Eplays a role\u003C\/a\u003E in this process. When mice eat less or are exposed to the cold, it triggers a marked shift in the composition of the microbiome, which in turn boosts the innate immune system, improves the body\u2019s sensitivity to insulin (warding off type 2 diabetes) and promotes fat browning. Mechanistically, this positive response is caused by calorie-restricted bacteria producing less of a molecule called Lipopolysaccharides (LPS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAnti-obesity drugs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Trajkovski is hopeful that new anti-obesity drugs channelling specific gut bacteria will eventually emerge from this work. \u2018One of the scopes in my research right now (in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/223713\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EHealthybiota\u003C\/a\u003E project) is to identify the individual microbes, as well as combinations of microbes, that contribute (to metabolic improvements), and to narrow down the mechanisms by which these microbes communicate with the host,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch on how to increase the amount of beige fat cells in humans could be furthered if researchers were able to study human fat cells outside the body rather than having to rely on mice studies, according to Dr Matthias Meier from the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus (HPC) at the Helmholtz Zentrum in Germany. He leads the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/213782\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EMicroAdiPSChip project\u003C\/a\u003E to develop tools that enable researchers to study complex cell systems outside of the human body and deepen their understanding of obesity, late-stage diabetes and other complex metabolic disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We can\u2019t do genetic manipulations on humans, so all research is based on mice \u2013 but mice are metabolically very different to humans,\u2019 he explained. \u2018That\u2019s why we need these chemical micro-environments \u2013 so researchers can realistically study the factors that impact cell behaviour.\u2019 Factors might include diet, stress, hormones or age.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn polymer and plastic chip platforms that closely resemble computer chips, his team builds miniscule 3D models, each model simulating a micro-environment found in the body. Fat cells at varying stages of development \u2013 from adult stem cells to maturing cells \u2013 are inserted into a model and bathed in cocktails of chemicals through microscopic fluid streams, to see how they respond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;By manipulating the body\u2019s fat stores, we can make big progress in the fight against obesity.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMirko Trajkovski, Geneva University, Switzerland\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the next few years, Dr Meier is hopeful that his models will reveal how beige fat cells can be manipulated to develop from adult stem cells. He explained: \u2018Imagine stem cells are on the peak of a mountain. When they roll down, you want a stimulus that can shift them to the left valley where they become beige rather than the right valley where they become white.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce the mechanics of how stem cells become beige fat cells are understood, Dr Meier believes drug therapies will eventually be developed to boost healthy fat tissue in people who have genetic risk factors for obesity and type 2 diabetes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoes he also anticipate a time when we will all submit to overindulgence and a sedentary lifestyle, relying on a pill to promote fat-burning beige cells? \u2018I hope not,\u2019 he says. \u2018Every drug comes with side effects, and there\u2019s no doubt that eating a healthy diet and less, and exercising, are the best preventatives for obesity and type 2 diabetes \u2013 this has to be stressed.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s European Research Council. 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