# Regulation of white fat browning by a novel, brown fat-secreted adipokine

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2020 · $418,750

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Our long-range goal is to understand signal transduction pathways underlying energy homeostasis and how
their alterations contribute to obesity and metabolic diseases. Brown fat and brown-like fat are specialized in
energy expenditure. They are present in adult humans and their activity is inversely associated with human
obesity. Thus, brown fat and brown-like fat represent potential therapeutic target for obesity and metabolic
diseases. We are interested in discovering novel adipokines controlling `browning' of white fat. We identified a
previously uncharacterized, secreted protein that is specifically expressed in brown fat and brown-like fat. Our
preliminary data showed that this adipokine plays a key part in brown fat-selective gene expression and energy
expenditure. We hypothesized that this adipokine, through paracrine and endocrine actions, controls
thermogenic gene program, and is both necessary and sufficient for white fat browning. In the first aim, we will
investigate in detail the roles of this adipokine in thermogenic gene expression in primary adipocyte culture and
its underlying mechanism. In the second aim, we will perform gain-of-functional studies to analyze the
metabolic phenotype of this adipokine in vivo. In the third aim, we will analyze the metabolic phenotype of
mice with adipose tissue-specific deletion of this adipokine gene. Our study will likely reveal the therapeutic
potential of this adipokine in metabolic diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9983675
- **Project number:** 5R01DK115918-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Yong-Xu Wang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $418,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9983675

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9983675, Regulation of white fat browning by a novel, brown fat-secreted adipokine (5R01DK115918-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9983675. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*