Epigenetic control of the white-to-beige adipocyte conversion

Project leader:Nolwenn Briand (adipose biology), Philippe Collas (nuclear biology)
Info:Human fat tissue stores energy in the form of lipids in white adipocytes and dissipates energy by heat in brown and beige (thermogenic) adipocytes. The beneficial effect of thermogenic adipocytes in maintaining body weight and protecting against metabolic diseases prompts studies of their origin and mechanisms of activation in response to stimuli such as exposure to cold. A key link between environment and phenotype is the epigenome, the record of chemical modifications on chromosomes which, in specific 3D contexts, regulate gene expression and cell fate. We are investigating the 3D epigenetic mechanisms underlying the formation and activation of thermogenic beige adipocytes in response to stimuli that mimic cold exposure (beiging). We are exploring how this plasticity is encoded at the epigenetic level and by the 3D architecture of genes and control elements involved in beiging.

Nolwenn Briand, Natalia Galigniana, Sarah Hazel Pickering, Anita Sørensen, Mohamed Abdelhalim, Thomas Sæther

Chromatin-associated mechanisms of regulation of upper vs. lower body fat tissue expansion
Chromatin conformation changes during white and beige adipogenesis, and during the white-to-beige adipocyte conversion, using cell culture models

Enhancer connectivity and gene activity at the nuclear lamina during adipocyte differentiation Madsen-Østerbye 2022 Genome Biol (Madsen-Østerbye 2023 Genes)
Constitutive and facultative LADs during adipogenic differentiation (Rønningen 2015 Genome Res)
Dynamic interactions of lamin A/C with promoters during adipogenic differentiation (Lund 2013 Genome Res)