Browning

is an irreversible process where white adipocytes die and are replaced by brown

adipocytes from the interscapular depot.

Browning

can occur via the direct "transdifferentiation" of white adipocytes

into beige cells, while the reverse process, "whitening," is promoted

by thermoneutrality and high-fat diets (HFD).

High-fat

diets are the primary trigger for

recruitment of beige fat in

humans to help dissipate excess energy.

Beige

adipocytes only emerge through

recruitment from PRMD16+

precursors and cannot be formed from existing mature cells.