Frequent extreme cold exposure and brown fat and cold-induced thermogenesis: a study in a monozygotic twin
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Mild cold acclimation is known to increase brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity and cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT) in humans. We here tested the effect of a lifestyle with frequent exposure to extreme cold on BAT and CIT in a Dutch man known as 'the Iceman', who has multiple world records in withstanding extreme cold challenges. Furthermore, his monozygotic twin brother who has a 'normal' sedentary lifestyle without extreme cold exposures was measured. METHODS: The Iceman (subject A) and his brother (subject B) were studied during mild cold (13°C) and thermoneutral conditions (31°C). Measurements included BAT activity and respiratory muscle activity by [18F]FDG-PET/CT imaging and energy expenditure through indirect calorimetry. In addition, body temperatures, cardiovascular parameters, skin perfusion, and thermal sensation and comfort were measured. Finally, we determined polymorphisms for uncoupling protein-1 and β3-adrenergic receptor. RESULTS: Subjects had comparable BAT activity (A: 1144 SUVtotal and B: 1325 SUVtotal), within the range previously observed in young adult men. They were genotyped with the polymorphism for uncoupling protein-1 (G/G). CIT was relatively high (A: 40.1% and B: 41.9%), but unlike during our previous cold exposure tests in young adult men, here both subjects practiced a g-Tummo like breathing technique, which involves vigorous respiratory muscle activity. This was confirmed by high [18F]FDG-uptake in respiratory muscle. CONCLUSION: No significant differences were found between the two subjects, indicating that a lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme cold does not seem to affect BAT activity and CIT. In both subjects, BAT was not higher compared to earlier observations, whereas CIT was very high, suggesting that g-Tummo like breathing during cold exposure may cause additional heat production by vigorous isometric respiratory muscle contraction. The results must be interpreted with caution given the low subject number and the fact that both participants practised the g-Tummo like breathing technique.
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The division into physical and psycho-social stressors neglects that the general state of the organism influences its response to every kind of event, not merely psycho-social events.
“Second, the division into physical and psycho-social stressors neglects the fact that the general state of the organism influences its response to every kind of event, not merely psycho-social events (Vosselman et al., 2014).”
From Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy (2015) · cites this paper as Vosselman et al., 2014
The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that twins with different histories of cold exposure had different subjective and insulative responses to the same physical cold exposure. This supports the narrower point that prior experience can influence a response to a physical event. The paper does not address the division between physical and psycho-social stressors or establish that an organism’s general state influences its response to every kind of event. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Vosselman, M. J., Vijgen, G. H. E. J., Kingma, B. R. M., Brans, B., & van Marken Lichtenbelt, W. D.
- Affiliations
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Erasmus MC (NL)
- Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL)
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2014-07-11
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- e101653
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4094425
- OpenAlex
- W2007574789
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 2.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- European Commission (278373)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Thermoregulation and physiological responses
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Building Energy and Comfort Optimization
- Keywords
- brown adipose tissue, cold-induced thermogenesis, extreme cold exposure, cold acclimation, monozygotic twins, respiratory muscle activity, UCP1, beta3-adrenergic receptor, energy expenditure, 18F-FDG PET/CT, Iceman
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Brown, Cold Temperature, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Twins, Monozygotic, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Thermogenesis, Positron-Emission Tomography, Extreme Cold
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