Thyroid hormones in pregnant women regulate brown adipose tissue in children: Study

The study shows how the the mother's thyroid hormones during pregnancy can impact the offspring's brown adipose tissue activity.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a tissue that helps newborns control their body temperature. BAT is gaining popularity among adults, particularly in the context of obesity-related disorders like type 2 diabetes.

Thyroid hormones in pregnant women regulate brown adipose tissue in children: Study (UNSPLASH)

In the fight against the obesity pandemic, activating BAT could represent a promising therapeutic approach to promote metabolic improvement. Researchers at the University of Lubeck's "Centre of Brain, Behaviour, and Metabolism" (CBBM) have now identified a mechanism involved in BAT activation.

The research team, directed by Prof Jens Mittag, head of the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the University of Lubeck, discovered that the mother's thyroid hormones during pregnancy had an effect on the offspring's BAT activity later in life.

We're now on WhatsApp. Click to join

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

BAT is currently being intensively researched in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes, as it is able to burn fat and release it as heat. Activation of this tissue is therefore promised to improve metabolism and provide a new therapeutic target in the fight against the obesity pandemic. It has recently been shown that lean people often have more brown fat than obese people.

However, it is still unclear why the activity of this tissue varies between individuals. Here, a research team of the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the "Center of Brain, Behaviour and Metabolism" (CBBM) of the University of Lubeck has obtained the first important evidence to solve this puzzle with the help of a mouse model.

"The key to brown adipose tissue activity seems to originate in the mother," reported Dr Rebecca Olkrug, first author of the study. "Mothers with high thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy had offspring with more active brown adipose tissue, while genetic blockade of the beta-thyroid hormone receptor in the pregnant mice triggered the opposite effect."

By analysing maternal blood at the CBBM Metabolics Core Facility, the researchers were also able to identify a possible molecular mechanism: Choline, an important nutrient for pregnant women, is directly regulated by maternal thyroid hormones.

"Our study underlines the high significance of the mother's hormonal situation for the offspring," explained Prof. Jens Mittag, the last author of the study.

“Unfortunately, in contrast to gestational diabetes, the thyroid is still frequently forgotten in pregnant women. Yet the necessary clinical tests are easy to perform, and there are specific reference values and treatment guidelines from, for example, the European Thyroid Society for Pregnancy.”