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Palmitoylethanolamide Promotes White-to-Beige Conversion and Metabolic Reprogramming of Adipocytes: Contribution of PPAR-α

Chiara Annunziata, Claudio Pirozzi, Adriano Lama, Martina Senzacqua, Federica Comella, Antonella Bordin, Anna Monnolo, Alessandra Pelagalli, Maria Carmela Ferrante, Maria Pina Mollica, Angelo Iossa, Elena De Falco, Giuseppina Mattace Raso, Saverio Cinti, Antonio Giordano, Rosaria Meli. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Jan 31;14(2):338.

Laboratory studyHumansOther animals

Design
Laboratory study
Subjects
Young male C57Bl/6J mice fed a control or high-fat diet; mature 3T3-L1 mouse adipocytes; human adipose-derived stromal cells from normal-weight and obese patients
Dose used in the study
Ultramicronised palmitoylethanolamide 30 mg/kg/day orally for 7 weeks, added to 12 weeks of high-fat diet
Duration
7 weeks of treatment, following 12 weeks of high-fat diet
What was measured
Brown and beige adipose tissue morphology and thermogenic gene expression, leptin signalling, mitochondrial bioenergetics, AMPK phosphorylation, and adipogenic differentiation in human adipose-derived stromal cells, using the PPAR-alpha antagonist GW6471.

What the authors reported

This lab study found:

  • Palmitoylethanolamide restored brown fat morphology and function, increased UCP1 positivity and noradrenergic innervation, and induced thermogenic gene transcription.
  • It promoted beige conversion of white fat, restored leptin signalling and tissue hormone sensitivity, and improved mitochondrial bioenergetics and increased AMPK phosphorylation in adipocytes.
  • It also increased adipogenic differentiation and AMPK phosphorylation in human stromal cells.
  • The PPAR-alpha antagonist GW6471 blocked these effects.

Limits of this study

A mouse and cell study of diet-induced obesity; it cannot show effect in people with obesity. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Source

PubMed 35214069 · doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14020338

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.