Gene expression and histological analysis of activated brown adipocytes in adipose tissue

With the rediscovery of brown adipose tissue in adult humans, identification and characterization of brown adipocytes have been topics of great interest in the field of adipose tissue research. In particular, identification of the molecular mechanisms that activate thermogenic adipocytes suggests promising targets for increasing energy expenditure and ultimately combatting obesity and obesity-related metabolic disease. Thus, the methodology for identifying brown adipocytes in vivo is important for the precise determination of the metabolic activity of brown adipose tissue and de novo brown adipogenesis in white adipose tissue. In addition, in vivo analysis of brown adipocytes in combination with lineage tracing is essential to investigate the cellular origins of brown adipocytes. This chapter first provides a brief overview of lineage tracing studies performed in the search for the cellular origins of brown adipocytes. The chapter then describes the immunohistochemistry methodology for identifying brown adipocytes in adipose tissue, including analyses in histologic tissue sections and whole mount tissue. Lastly, it discusses flow cytometric analysis of dissociated cells from adipose tissue, and isolation of live adipocytes for subsequent gene expression profiling using fluorescence-activated cell sorting.