-Lipid overload in obesity and type 2 diabetes is associated with adipocyte dysfunction, inflammation, macrophage infiltration, and decreased fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Here, we report that the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), the rate-limiting enzyme in mitochondrial FAO, is higher in human adipose tissue macrophages than in adipocytes and that it is differentially expressed in visceral vs. subcutaneous adipose tissue in both an obese and a type 2 diabetes cohort. These observations led us to further investigate the potential role of CPT1A in adipocytes and macrophages. We expressed CPT1AM, a permanently active mutant form of CPT1A, in 3T3-L1 CAR⌬1 adipocytes and RAW 264.7 macrophages through adenoviral infection. Enhanced FAO in palmitate-incubated adipocytes and macrophages reduced triglyceride content and inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity in adipocytes, and reduced endoplasmic reticulum stress and ROS damage in macrophages. We conclude that increasing FAO in adipocytes and macrophages improves palmitate-induced derangements. This indicates that enhancing FAO in metabolically relevant cells such as adipocytes and macrophages may be a promising strategy for the treatment of chronic inflammatory pathologies such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, leading to severe associated pathologies such as insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Adipose tissue has become crucial due to its involvement in the pathogenesis of obesity-induced insulin resistance, and traditionally white adipose tissue has captured the most attention. However in the last decade the presence and activity of heat-generating brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans has been rediscovered. BAT decreases with age and in obese and diabetic patients. It has thus attracted strong scientific interest, and any strategy to increase its mass or activity might lead to new therapeutic approaches to obesity and associated metabolic diseases. In this review we highlight the mechanisms of fatty acid uptake, trafficking and oxidation in brown fat thermogenesis. We focus on BAT's morphological and functional characteristics and fatty acid synthesis, storage, oxidation and use as a source of energy.

The discovery of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans and the fact that it is reduced in obese and diabetic patients have put a spotlight on this tissue as a key player in obesity-induced metabolic disorders. BAT regulates energy expenditure through thermogenesis; therefore, harnessing its thermogenic fat-burning power is an attractive therapeutic approach. We aimed to enhance BAT thermogenesis by increasing its fatty acid oxidation (FAO) rate. Thus, we expressed carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1AM (CPT1AM), a permanently active mutant form of CPT1A (the rate-limiting enzyme in FAO), in a rat brown adipocyte (rBA) cell line through adenoviral infection. We found that CPT1AM-expressing rBA have increased FAO, lipolysis, UCP1 protein levels and mitochondrial activity. Additionally, enhanced FAO reduced the palmitate-induced increase in triglyceride content and the expression of obese and inflammatory markers. Thus, CPT1AM-expressing rBA had enhanced fat-burning capacity and improved lipid-induced derangements. This indicates that CPT1AM-mediated increase in brown adipocytes FAO may be a new approach to the treatment of obesity-induced disorders.