The 12th annual international symposium in obesity ... - Nature

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by Dr Denis Richard (Canada), included Dr Daniel Ricquier. (France) and Dr Frédéric Picard (Canada). Dr Paul Boisvert was the coordinator of the symposium ...
International Journal of Obesity (2010) 34, S1–S2 & 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 0307-0565/10 www.nature.com/ijo

INTRODUCTION The 12th annual international symposium in obesity: rediscovering brown adipose tissue D Richard1 and P Boisvert2 Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity, Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Que´bec, Universite´ Laval, Que´bec City, Que´bec, Canada

International Journal of Obesity (2010) 34, S1–S2; doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.175 Keywords: Quebec symposium; Canada Research Chair; obesity regulation; adipose tissue

The world escalating prevalence of obesity not only in adults but also in children, together with the rising awareness of the detrimental effects of this condition on health and health costs, has considerably contributed to intensify our efforts to understand obesity, which is now at the forefront of biochemical, biomolecular and neurobiological research. The main feature of obesity is an excessive development of adipose tissues, indicating the constant positive energy balance for obese patients, leading to fat enlargement and the continuous replenishment of adipocytes by triglycerides. Numerous studies over the past 20 years have led to the identification of factors and mechanisms controlling the development of adipose tissues (white adipocytes). However, it is not certain whether such discoveries will facilitate the outcome of new treatments of fat growth and obesity. In parallel to such studies, other ones, some of which may be somewhat ancient, pointed out the interest of a particular set of adipocytes, referred to as brown adipocytes, unique cells able to rapidly oxidize and burn fatty acids to generate heat. Interestingly, very recent studies resuscitated the interest in brown adipose tissue in humans, such a tissue being a sort of antiwhite adipose tissue. These studies encouraged the organizing committee to set up a symposium dedicated to the rediscovering of brown

Correspondence: Dr D Richard, Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Que´bec, 2725 chemin Sainte-Foy, Room Y4235, Que´bec City, Que´bec, Canada G1V 4G5. E-mail: [email protected] 1 D Richard is the recipient of the Universite´ Laval’s Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity and Director of the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Que´bec. 2 P Boisvert is the symposium manager and editor; he is also the coordinator for educational activities of the Universite´ Laval’s Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity.

adipose tissue. The symposium was organized as two sessions that focused on the biology of brown adipose tissue and on the physiology of thermogenesis. During the first session, presentations dealing with brown fat growth and transcriptional control of brown adipocyte differentiation were made, whereas the second session mostly dealt with the pathophysiological aspect of activating brown adipocytes. This symposium can thus be considered as a first step in bringing together top scientists to help establish the scientific stage for the research that will be conducted in the next decade. The mission of the Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity is to promote and support academic research and educational activities on the causes, complications, treatment and prevention of obesity. It is within our mission to make scientists, physicians, health professionals and the general public aware of recent discoveries in the field of obesity. In this context, the purpose of our annual symposium is to summarize science-based evidence regarding an important topic related to recent advances in obesity and to propose novel obesity research directions. The Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity has so far organized, annually, 11 international symposia entirely devoted to obesity research, since its creation in 1997. The first symposium of the series, entitled The Uncoupling Proteins and Obesity, was held in 1998.1 The second symposium, organized in 1999, was oriented towards Recent Advances in Adipose Tissue Biology and their Implications for Obesity.2 In 2000, the third symposium, entitled The Ponderostat: From Behavior To Neural Substrates,3 focused on the mechanisms whereby energy balance is regulated. The fourth symposium, organized in November 2002, and entitled Complications of Obesity: The Inflammatory Link, summarized the latest most important findings in the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and its complications such as diabetes and

Annual international symposium in obesity D Richard and P Boisvert

S2 cardiovascular diseases.4 In 2003, the fifth symposium brought a comprehensive view on The Role of Gene Regulation in Obesity and its Complications,5 and specifically, on the regulation of PPARs, PGC-1, FOXO1 and SIR2. In 2004, the sixth symposium focused on the understanding of The Endocannabinoid System and its Role in Energy Homeostasis and Abdominal Obesity Management.6 The seventh symposium explored in 2005 the complexity of The Neurobiology of Obesity.7 Our eighth symposium organized in 2006 was dedicated to AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Obesity.8 In 2007, for the tenth anniversary of the Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity, a double program was held on 2 consecutive days. The first symposium focused on the Gastrointestinal tract, obesity and diabetes, the second one explored the concept of Childhood Obesity: Biological/Environmental Determinants and Preventative Strategies.9 For more details, please visit our website at http://obesity.ulaval.ca. In 2009, an advisory committee to the Chair recommended, 10 years after the symposium on Recent Advances in Adipose Tissue Biology, to revisit this theme by organizing a program dedicated to ‘Brown adipose tissue’ for the twelfth annual symposium series. The symposium was held on 6 November 2009, at Auberge Saint-Antoine in Que´bec City, Canada. The scientific program committee for this symposium, which was chaired by Dr Denis Richard (Canada), included Dr Daniel Ricquier (France) and Dr Fre´de´ric Picard (Canada). Dr Paul Boisvert was the coordinator of the symposium logistics. The present proceedings therefore cover the highlights of the twelfth symposium organized by the Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity. The morning session of the meeting, chaired by Daniel Ricquier, addressed the ‘Biology of Brown Adipose Tissue.’ The afternoon session, chaired by Fre´de´ric Picard, explored aspects related to the ‘Physiology of BAT thermogenesis.’ In closing, our gratitude goes to all the invited scientific experts, who not only delivered authoritative, comprehensive and stimulating presentations but also participated with enthusiasm and competence in all the activities of the

International Journal of Obesity

symposium. We thank Daniel Ricquier and Fre´de´ric Picard, who competently chaired the meeting sessions for the symposium on ‘Rediscovering Brown Adipose Tissue’. This supplement was coordinated by Paul Boisvert. We also acknowledge the contribution of the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Que´bec affiliated to the Universite´ Laval, as well as Desjardins Se´curite´ Financie`re for their support to the symposium. Finally, this symposium was supported by an unrestricted grant from Merck Frosst Canada Limited.

Conflict of interest D Richard has received educational grant support from Merck Frosst Obesity Research Chair. P Boisvert has declared no financial interests.

References 1 Bouchard C. Introduction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999; 23 (Suppl 6): S2–S3. 2 Richard D. Introduction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24 (Suppl 4): S2. 3 Richard D. Introduction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001; 25 (Suppl 5): S2–S3. 4 Richard D. Introduction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2003; 27 (Suppl 3): S2–S3. 5 Richard D, Boisvert P. The role of gene regulation in obesity and its complication: introduction. Int J Obes 2005; 29 (Suppl 1): S1–S2. 6 Richard D, Boisvert P. The endocannabinoids system and its role in energy homeostasis and abdominal obesity management. Int J Obes 2006; 30 (Suppl 1): S1–S2. 7 Richard D, Boisvert P. The neurobiology of obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2006; 14 (Suppl 5): 187S–188S. 8 Richard D, Boisvert P. AMP-activated protein kinase in obesity: metabolic node and beyondFintroduction. Int J Obes 2008; 32 (Suppl 4): S1–S2. 9 Richard D, Boisvert P. 9th and 10th annual international symposium in obesity from the Merck Frosst/CIHR Research Chair in Obesity at Universite´ Laval. Int J Obes 2009; 33 (Suppl 1): S1–S2.