The Scheele Group investigates the hypothesis that BAT is a regulatory organ in adult human metabolism, which communicates with central and peripheral metabolic units by secreted factors known as batokines. The group has a long experience in working with mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue biopsies which can be differentiated in vitro into mature adipocytes.

The group study cell identity of progenitors from BAT and WAT at single cell level and maps cell type specific secretomes. Current work includes development of 3D co-culture and organ-on-a-chip cell models, also including other cell types such as neurons and pancreatic alpha cells. “Our goal is to identify batokines that can counteract the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

“Proteomics-Based Comparative Mapping of the Secretomes of Human Brown and White Adipocytes Reveals EPDR1 as a Novel Batokine”
Published in Cell Metabolism in 2019 this study is mapping the secretomes of human brown and white adipocytes and identifies several novel batokines, including EPDR1, exclusively identified in brown adipocytes cell media and necessary for brown fat differentiation.

“A classical brown adipose tissue mRNA signature partly overlaps with brite in the supraclavicular region of adult humans.”
Published in Cell Metabolism in 2013, this study was among the first to provide a molecular characterization of brown fat in adult humans, and furthermore demonstrated that brown fat progenitor cells could be isolated and maintain their brown fat identity when differentiated in vitro.

“Heterogeneity in the perirenal region of humans suggests presence of dormant brown adipose tissue that contains brown fat precursor cells”
Published in Molecular Metabolism 2019 this study identifies dormant brown fat in adult humans, present in regions of diminished sympathetic activity and characterized by unilocularity and reduced expression of mitochondrial respiratory genes, but with an intact pool of brown fat progenitor cells.