Abstract 68: Activation of Brown Adipose Tissue Reduces Development of Atherosclerosis

Objectives: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) recently emerged as a novel player in lipoprotein metabolism. BAT combusts high amounts fatty acids into heat resulting in reduced plasma triglyceride (TG) levels as well as obesity. However, the precise role of BAT in cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis development remains unclear. We aimed to assess the effect of stimulating BAT activity by s3-adrenergic receptor (s3-AR) agonism on lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis development in APOE*3-Leiden.CETP mice, a well-established model for human-like lipoprotein metabolism. Methods and results: Mice were fed a Western-type diet to induce dyslipidemia and were treated subcutaneously with the selective s3-AR agonist CL316243 (3x20 μg/week) or vehicle for 10 weeks. s3-AR agonism reduced total fat mass (-59%) and white adipose tissue (WAT) pad size (-40%). s3-AR agonism decreased the size of intracellular lipid vacuoles in BAT, and increased UCP-1 expression in WAT, indicating activation of brown adipocytes (i...