Cold-Induced Serum Short-Chain Fatty Acids Act as Markers of Brown Adipose Tissue Metabolism in Humans
Authors' conclusion
Circulating SCFAs are linked with BAT oxidative metabolism and NEFA uptake during cold exposure. The observed correlations between SCFA catabolic genes and thermogenic markers suggest that metabolically active BAT may selectively engage SCFA-related pathways, pointing to a potential mechanistic role of SCFAs in supporting BAT function in humans.
Study context
- Population
- Adults aged 20–55 years, BMI 19–44 kg/m²; Brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism by dynamic PET/CT at room temperature and after cold exposureBAT biopsies n = 14
- Participants
- 71 adults
- Exposure
- High-BAT vs low-BAT groups
- Outcome
- Associations between circulating SCFAs and BAT metabolism
- Follow-up
- Room temperature and after cold exposure
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
cold exposure
- Cold-induced acetate and propionate positively associated with BAT nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) uptake and oxygen consumption
- Circulating short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) maintained after cold exposure only in the high-BAT group
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
BAT transcriptome
- SCFA metabolism genes (e.g. conversion to acetyl-CoA) correlated with thermogenic and lipid metabolism genes exclusively in the high-BAT group
Original publication
Cold-Induced Serum Short-Chain Fatty Acids Act as Markers of Brown Adipose Tissue Metabolism in Humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published 5 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →