A study recently carried out by a research team under the direction of Florian Kiefer from the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Medical University of Vienna shows that low temperaturesVitamin A mirror in humansand increase mice. This in turn helps to convert “bad” white adipose into “good” brown adipose tissue. In addition, this process stimulates fat burning through heat generation. This “fat conversion” is usually accompanied by increased energy consumption. Therefore, this promising approach to develop new drugs would be able to contribute enormously.
Low temperatures for weight loss
People and mammals have at least two types of fat deposits - white andbrown adipose tissue. During the development of obesity, excess calories are mainly stored in white fat. In contrast, brown fat burns energy and thus creates warmth. More than 90 % of the body fat deposits in humans who are typically on the stomach, on the lower and thigh are white. Such a conversion could be a new therapeutic option to combat weight gain and obesity.
The research group has now shown that a moderate application of cold increases the vitamin A level and its blood transporter, the retinol-binding protein, in humans and mice. Most of the reserves of this vitamin are stored in the liver. Low temperatures seem to stimulate the redistribution of vitamin A towards fat tissue. The increase in vitamin A caused by cold led to the conversion above with a higher fat burning rate.
Study results
When the pine and his team blocked the vitamin A transporter retinol-binding protein in mice through genetic manipulation, both the increase in vitamin A conveyed by cold and the browning of the white fat had been blunted. As a result, fat oxidation and heat generation were so disturbed that the mice could no longer protect themselves from cold. In contrast, the addition of vitamin A to human white fat cells led to the expression of properties of brown fat cells with increased metabolic activity and increased energy consumption.
DieShow study resultsthat vitamin A plays an important role in the function of the obese tissue and thus affects the energy metabolism. However, this is not an argument for increased taking vitamin A preparations if they are not prescribed. It is more important that vitamin A can be transported into the right cells at the right time. The scientists have discovered a new mechanism through which vitamin A regulates the burning of lipids and heat generation under cold conditions. This could help develop new therapeutic interventions that use this specific mechanism.
