Brown Adipose Tissue Recruitment in a Rodent Model of Severe Badipose tissue recruitment in a rodent model of severe burns

Abstract Background Burn trauma results in a prolonged hypermetabolic response. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), abundant in uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), plays a key role in non-shivering thermogenesis. We set out to determine if BAT is recruited in response to severe burns. Methods Male balb-c mice underwent scald burns on approximately 20-–25% of their total body surface. BAT was harvested from the interscapular fat pad of sham and burned mice at 3 hours, 24 hours, 24 h, 4 days, and 10 days post injury. High-resolution respirometry was used to determine mitochondrial respiratory function in BAT. BAT protein concentration, and mitochondrial enzyme activity were also determined. Results Respiration increased in BAT of burned mice, peaking at 24 hours post injury (P post injury (P  2-fold at 24 hours2-fold at 24 h post injury when compared to the 3 hours and sham group (P and sham group (P  Conclusions We show a time-dependent recruitment of rodent BAT in response to severe burns. Given recent reports that humans, including patients with severe burns, have functional BAT, these data support a role for BAT in the hypermetabolic response to severe burns.