Retinoids and their precursors are known to regulate adipose tissue maturation. Jorge Plutzky and his colleagues now show that an increased endogenous level of retinaldehyde in white adipose tissue, generated by genetic deletion of Raldh1, promotes its 'beiging' in a retinoic acid receptor–dependent manner. They also showed that genetic knockdown of Raldh1 and conversion of white to brown fat leads to weight loss and heightened glucose tolerance in obese mice in a therapeutic manner.
- Florian W Kiefer
- Cecile Vernochet
- Jorge Plutzky
