Brown adipose tissue remodeling precedes cardiometabolic abnormalities independent of overweight in fructose-fed mice

Objectives: To investigate the early cardiometabolic abnormalities along with WAT and BAT remodeling in short-term fructose feeding mice model. Methods: Mice (n=10-11/group) were fed for four weeks with control diet (AIN93-M) or experimental diets rich in glucose or fructose. We investigated body weight, body adiposity, blood glucose, lipid and hepatic parameters, and white (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) histopathology. Results: Fructose feeding promoted neither weight gain nor hypertrophy of visceral and subcutaneous WAT depots, but the fat was redistributed toward visceral depots. Glucose, lipid and hepatic metabolic dysfunction were not yet noticed in fructose-fed mice, with the exception for an elevation in total cholesterol and hepatic weight without steatosis. BAT mass did not increase, and it was proportionally reduced compared with visceral WAT in fructose feed mice. BAT suffered premature adverse morphological remodeling, characterized by increased lipid deposition per tissue area in enlarged intracellular lipid droplets. Conclusion: Short-term fructose feeding redistributes body fat, changes the proportion of BAT to visceral fat, and promotes BAT adverse remodeling, characterized by enlarged intracellular lipid droplets.