After implanting a hot, fat-like tissue into mice, scientists at UC Berkeley have found that the fatty inserts significantly lowered glucose blood pressure and – as the word "hot" suggests – staved off weight gain. This could be a big development in the battle to combat diabetes and other life-threatening diseases caused by obesity.
The implants were altered with hydrogel, or an absorbent water-based gel, to produce the brown, hot "good" fat. In effect, the implants were able to burn away calories.
In a press statement released by Berkeley, Ph.D student and lead author of the study Kevin Tharp explained the possible applications of the experiment's results:
"What is truly exciting about this system is its potential to provide plentiful supplies of brown fat for therapeutic purposes. The implant is made from the stem cells that reside in white fat, which could be made from tissue obtained through liposuction."
According to another member of the team, associate professor Andreas Stahl from the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, their lab at Berkeley is the first to conduct such an experiment.
While this kind of reaction usually only happens in humans when our bodies experience a significant temperature drop – like being outside without a coat on a chilly winter day – the Berkeley scientists were able to "develop a system of physical cues to guide stem cell differentiation," producing the same reaction.
"This is a feasibility study, but the results were very encouraging," Stahl said. "It is the first time an optimized 3D environment has been created to stimulate the growth of brown-like fat. Given the negative health effects of obesity, research into the role of brown fat should continue to see if these findings would be effective in humans."
