miR-125b impairs brite adipocyte formation and function

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and the associated beta-cell failure is attributable up to 90% to weight gain and has increased in parallel with the epidemic of obesity. We are now aware that healthy adult humans possess active brown adipose tissue (BAT) presenting a high glucose uptake. Furthermore, in rodents and humans, islands of brown adipocytes, termed “brite” (brown-in-white), emerge within white adipose tissue (WAT) depots after cold or β3-adrenergic stimulation. Therefore, the identification of regulatory factors, which allows converting white to brite adipocytes, would be of great interest for the treatment o…