PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ballinger, Mallory A.
AU  - Andrews, Matthew T.
TI  - Nature's fat-burning machine: brown adipose tissue in a hibernating mammal
AID  - 10.1242/jeb.162586
DP  - 2018 Mar 07
TA  - The Journal of Experimental Biology
PG  - jeb162586
VI  - 221
IP  - Suppl 1
4099  - http://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/Suppl_1/jeb162586.short
4100  - http://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/Suppl_1/jeb162586.full
SO  - J. Exp. Biol.2018 Mar 07; 221
AB  - Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a unique thermogenic tissue in mammals that rapidly produces heat via nonshivering thermogenesis. Small mammalian hibernators have evolved the greatest capacity for BAT because they use it to rewarm from hypothermic torpor numerous times throughout the hibernation season. Although hibernator BAT physiology has been investigated for decades, recent efforts have been directed toward understanding the molecular underpinnings of BAT regulation and function using a variety of methods, from mitochondrial functional assays to ‘omics’ approaches. As a result, the inner-workings of hibernator BAT are now being illuminated. In this Review, we discuss recent research progress that has identified players and pathways involved in brown adipocyte differentiation and maturation, as well as those involved in metabolic regulation. The unique phenotype of hibernation, and its reliance on BAT to generate heat to arouse mammals from torpor, has uncovered new molecular mechanisms and potential strategies for biomedical applications.