35 results about "Brown Adipocytes" patented technology

Methods and devices are provided for activating brown adipose tissue (BAT). Generally, the methods and devices can activate BAT to increase thermogenesis, e.g., increase heat production in the patient, which over time can lead to weight loss. In one embodiment, a medical device is provided that activates BAT by electrically stimulating nerves that activate the BAT and / or electrically stimulating brown adipocytes directly, thereby increasing thermogenesis in the BAT and inducing weight loss through energy expenditure.

Brown adipose tissue (“BAT”) progenitor cells and methods for identifying BAT progenitor cells in a population of cells are provided. Methods are also provided for inducing differentiation of BAT progenitor cells into differentiated brown adipocytes, inducing expression or increased activity levels of BAT uncoupling protein-1 (“UCP1”), and for identifying agents capable of inducing differentiation of BAT progenitor cells into brown adipocytes and / or inducing expression or increased activity levels of UCP1. Differentiated brown adipocytes and agents and methods for inducing differentiation of BAT progenitor cells can be used for treatment of, or the making of medicaments for the treatment of, metabolic diseases or conditions in a patient such as obesity, overweight, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin-resistance, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and the like. Differentiated brown adipocytes and agents and methods for inducing differentiation of BAT progenitor cells can be used for prevention of hypothermia.

Provided are a method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, a method of producing cell aggregates as an intermediate product thereof, pluripotent stem cell-derived cell aggregates and pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes produced by these methods, and cell therapy using the pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes. In the method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, cell aggregates are produced from pluripotent stem cells by a method including the step (A), and brown adipocytes are prepared from the cell aggregates by a method including the step (B). The step (A) is a step of producing cell aggregates by non-adhesive culture of pluripotent stem cells in serum-free environment in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine, and the step (B) is a step of producing brown adipocytes by adhesion culture of the cell aggregates in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a novel hepatic fibrosis-inhibiting agent or brown fat cell-activating agent; and a drug for preventing and / or treating non-alcoholic fatty hepatitis and containing said agent as an active ingredient. The present invention pertains to: a hepatic fibrosis-inhibiting agent and brown fat cell-activating agent containing taxifolin as an active ingredient; and a drug for preventing and / or treating non-alcoholic fatty hepatitis and containing taxifolin as an active ingredient.