WAT that underwent browning is characterized by the presence of "beige" adipocytes, which are morphologically similar to brown adipocytes, express uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and are considered thermogenically competent.  Importantly, BAT in humans only represents a small proportion of total body mass, which limits the thermogenic capacity of this tissue.  Here, we discuss the differences with respect to thermogenic capacity and metabolic characteristics between white and beige adipocytes to determine whether the latter cells indeed significantly enhance their capacity to dissipate energy through UCP1-mediated mitochondrial uncoupling or by the activation of alternative UCP1-independent futile cycles.
THERM