UC Davis

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) in rodents appears to be an important tissue for the clearance of plasma branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) contributing to improved metabolic health. However, the role of human BAT in plasma BCAA clearance is poorly understood. Here, we evaluate patients with prostate cancer who underwent positron emission tomography-computed tomography imaging after an injection of ¹⁸F-fluciclovine (L-leucine analog). Supraclavicular adipose tissue (AT; primary location of human BAT) has a higher net uptake rate for ¹⁸F-fluciclovine compared to subcutaneous abdominal and upper chest AT. Supraclavicular AT ¹⁸F-fluciclovine net uptake rate is lower in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Finally, the expression of genes involved in BCAA catabolism is higher in the supraclavicular AT of healthy people with high BAT volume compared to those with low BAT volume. These findings support the notion that BAT can potentially function as a metabolic sink for plasma BCAA clearance in people.