SHORT-TERM INTERMITTENT COLD THERAPY INCREASES THERMOGENIC CAPACITY AND REDUCES SUCROSE-INDUCED HEPATIC STEATOSIS

CALDARERI, LILIAN; WISZNIEWSKI, MORENA; JARA, FEDERICO; REPETTO, ESTEBAN MARTIN; CYMERYNG, CORA B.; MARTINEZ CALEJMAN, CAMILA

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Congreso; REUNIÓN ANUAL DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIAS SAIC;SAFIS; ALACF; 2024

Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones Clinicas

Introduction: Obesity and other metabolically related diseases associatedwith an excess of caloric intake can lead to non-alcoholicfatty liver disease (NAFLD). Its genesis is based on a multiple hittheory that argues that liver steatosis is one of the early events necessaryto develop NAFLD. Thermogenesis is a catabolic processcan significantly increase energy expenditure restoring the energybalance. Although there has been extensive research on brown adiposetissue (BAT), sustained activation that could be adapted to aclinical/therapeutical setting has proven to be challenging. Our labhas been developing a short-term intermittent cold protocol (IC) thatcan effectively activates BAT, increasing its oxidative capacity, aswell as inducing the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) thereforeincreasing the overall thermogenic capacity. Aim: To study theeffect of IC on the activity of BAT and the browning capacity of WATof C57bl6 mice treated with a sucrose-rich diet (SRD), and its effecton liver steatosis. Materials & methods: We subjected 8-week-oldmale C57bl 6 mice to increasing short term periods (5-15 min/day)at 4ºC for a month IC, and we measured its effect on BAT, WAT, liverand serum parameters. On another set of experiments, we tested itstherapeutic capacity by implementing the IC on 4-week treated SRDmice. Results & Conclusions: IC was able to induce a strongerbrown-like identity in BAT, increasing the oxidative capacity of the tissue,as well as, to induce browning of WAT. This was accompaniedby a reduction in lipid droplet size. Four weeks of SRD treatmentwas able to increase lipid content in the liver shown by higher TAGlevels versus Control (C) (0.23±0.01 vs 0.50±0.07 μg/mg, p