Immune Heat

Editor's choice in immunology

Written byEdyta Zielinska
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

THAT'S SO HOT: The macrophage, an immune cell known for engulfing infected cells or pathogens, may also play a role in temperature regulation. PHOTO RESEARCHERS, DAVID M. PHILLIPS

K.D. Nguyen et al., "Alternatively activated macrophages produce catecholamines to sustain adaptive thermogenesis," Nature, 480:104-8, 2011.

Maintenance of body temperature in response to cold was thought to be the purview of the sympathetic nervous system. But now, Ajay Chawla at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues have demonstrated that the immune system–specifically macrophages–plays a critical role in turning fat stores into energy and heat.

The researchers found that brown fat–the heat-producing fatty tissue found mostly in babies and hibernators–contained higher numbers of macrophages than other tissue. So Chawla exposed mice to cold temperatures to see if the numbers of macrophages changed. Although there was no difference in number, the macrophages in the brown and white fat of the chilled mice were more active ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Related Topics

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

View this Issue
Genome Modeling and Design: From the Molecular to Genome Scale

Genome Modeling and Design: From the Molecular to Genome Scale

Twist Bio 
Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Discover how to streamline tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte production.

Producing Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapeutics

cytiva logo
Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Sino Biological Sets New Industry Standard with ProPure Endotoxin-Free Proteins made in the USA

sartorius-logo

Introducing the iQue 5 HTS Platform: Empowering Scientists  with Unbeatable Speed and Flexibility for High Throughput Screening by Cytometry

parse_logo

Vanderbilt Selects Parse Biosciences GigaLab to Generate Atlas of Early Neutralizing Antibodies to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

shiftbioscience

Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery