The Sympathetic Innervation of Adipose Tissues: Regulation, Functions, and
Plasticity.
Authors Willows JW, Blaszkiewicz M, Townsend KL
Submitted By Submitted Externally on 8/28/2023
Status Published
Journal Comprehensive Physiology, References
Year 2023
Date Published 6/1/2023
Volume : Pages 13 : 4985 - 5021
PubMed Reference 37358505
Abstract The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is a crucial arm of the peripheral nervous
system (PNS) and includes catecholaminergic neurons that release norepinephrine
(NE) onto numerous effector tissues and organs in the body. SNS innervation of
both white (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) is clearly essential for proper
tissue function and metabolic control, as decades of surgical, chemical, and
genetic denervation studies have demonstrated. Despite our vast knowledge about
adipose sympathetic innervation, especially in the context of cold-stimulated
browning and thermogenesis that are under SNS control, newer data now provide a
nuanced view of the SNS supply to adipose, including its regulation by local
neuroimmune cells and neurotrophic factors, the co-release of modulatory
neuropeptides along with NE, the importance of local SNS drive to adipose versus
systemic increases in circulating catecholamines, and the long-overlooked
interplay between adipose sympathetic and sensory nerves. This article brings a
modern view to the regulation of sympathetic innervation patterns in WAT and
BAT, how to image and quantify the nerve supply, contributions of adipose SNS to
tissue functions, and how adipose tissue nerves respond to tissue remodeling and
plasticity with changing energy demands. © 2023 American Physiological Society.
Compr Physiol 13:4985-5021, 2023.

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