Browning fat

Abstract

{Dana-Farber} researchers have identified a hormone, irisin, that converts white fat into brown-like fat in mice. Ember Therapeutics has licensed the findings and is generating stabilized irisin variants for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Independently, a Harvard team has developed a method for converting human pluripotent stem cells into white and brown adipocytes. The team is collaborating with Roche to screen for molecules that induce or activate brown fat.