Mohsen Jafari - Department of Sport Sciences, Shirvan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shirvan, Iran
Mehrdad Fathi - Department of Exercise Physiology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Elham Pouryamehr - Department of Sport Physiology, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran

There are three types of adipose tissue in the human body: white adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige or Brite adipose tissue. In WAT, energy reserves in the form of triglyceride, while in BAT triglyceride molecules lipolyze for thermogenesis through fatty acid oxidation. A protein called uncoupling protein-۱ (UCP۱) is responsible for non-shivering thermogenesis in BAT. The most important activators of BAT include peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator ۱-alpha (PGC-۱α), sympathetic nervous system (SNS), hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis (HPT axis), endothelium, atrial natriuretic peptides, irisin, β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), Fibroblast growth factor ۲۱ (FGF۲۱) and interleukin-۶ (IL۶) that generally exert their effects through stimulation of UCP۱ expression and activity. Beige adipose are among white adipose and elevation of UCP۱ gene expression is the main cause of their production that atrial natriuretic peptides, PGC۱α, irisin, FGF۲۱ and BAIBA are the most stimulators of this transformation. The role of exercise in the stimulation of BAT and transformation of WAT to Brite is discussed in this study.

Training, Adipose Tissue