Fat Talks Back

Anyone watching their weight will feel all too aware of their fat, but can fat feed back too? It has long been thought that our adipose tissue, which stores energy as fat cells, communicates information about hunger and metabolism through hormones released into the bloodstream. But a new study using an imaging technique that renders tissues transparent so neurons can be clearly visualised (video) has revealed a direct cellular connection between brain and fat. Some of these neurons link to the sympathetic nervous system – involved in our fight or flight response – but researchers were surprised to see others directly communicating with the brain. Selectively silencing certain groups of these cells showed that they ferry stop and go signals to regulate how fat is broken down. The information exchange is often disrupted in conditions like diabetes and obesity, so perhaps tapping into this line of communication could help with new treatments.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Video from work by Yu Wang and colleagues
• Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, San Diego, CA, USA
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature, August 2022