Cell Metab: New research provides new clues for the treatment of elderly obese diabetes

Highlights of this article:
Cellular senescence of beige fat precursor cells prevents freezing-induced beige fat production in elderly mammals
Inducing premature senescence of young beige fat precursor cells is sufficient to block beige fat production
Reversing the senescence of beige fat precursor cells through genetic methods can restore beige fat production
Targeting the aging process through pharmacological methods can restore the vitality of precursor cells and the potential for beige adipogenesis

Recently, researchers from the Southwestern Medical Center in the United States published a new research development in the international academic journal CellMetabolism. In this article, they found new clues that the elderly’s beige fat production capacity is weakened.

Low-temperature freezing can induce fat precursor cells in white adipose tissue to form beige fat cells to help consume energy and produce calories. Many studies and experts believe this is a potential strategy for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. However, with the aging process, the ability of freezing to induce beige fat production will gradually decrease, which brings obstacles to the clinical application of this method in the elderly, and the elderly account for a high proportion of obese people.

In this study, the researchers found that the beige fat precursor cells of aging mice and humans exhibit a kind of cellular senescence. The appearance of this cellular senescence may be due to the ability of beige fat precursor cells to randomly age to form beige fat cells. An important reason for weakness.

Afterwards, the researchers used genetic and pharmacological methods to activate the senescence pathway in young beige fat precursor cells to induce premature senescence, and found that this can block the precursor cells from forming beige fat cells induced under freezing conditions. In contrast, targeting the p38/MAPK-p16 signaling pathway in beige fat precursor cells of aging mice and humans can not only restore freezing-induced beige fat cell production, but also further enhance blood sugar control.

Collectively, these results indicate that anti-aging strategies can help enhance the production of beige fat cells in elderly mammals, which is very beneficial for improving metabolic health.