Uncoupling Proteins: Do They Have a Role in Body Weight Regulation?

Physiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul.G. Dulloo ◽  
Sonia Samec
Keyword(s):  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Uncoupling Proteins ◽  
Weight Regulation ◽  
Body Weight Regulation ◽  
Mitochondrial Carrier ◽  
Adaptive Thermogenesis ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Mitochondrial Carrier Protein

Several members of the mitochondrial carrier protein family are classified as uncoupling proteins. In contrast to the uncoupling protein specific to brown adipose tissue (UCP1), the physiological role of skeletal muscle uncoupling proteins (UCP2 and UCP3) in weight regulation seems more closely associated with the regulation of lipids as fuel substrate than as mediators of adaptive thermogenesis.

scholarly journals Uncoupling proteins in mitochondria of plants and some microorganisms.

2001 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Jarmuszkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Plants ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Acanthamoeba Castellanii ◽  
Uncoupling Proteins ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Functional Connection ◽  
Mitochondrial Inner Membrane ◽  
Mitochondrial Carrier Family

Uncoupling proteins, members of the mitochondrial carrier family, are present in mitochondrial inner membrane and mediate free fatty acid-activated, purine-nucleotide-inhibited H+ re-uptake. Since 1995, it has been shown that the uncoupling protein is present in many higher plants and some microorganisms like non-photosynthetic amoeboid protozoon, Acanthamoeba castellanii and non-fermentative yeast Candida parapsilosis. In mitochondria of these organisms, uncoupling protein activity is revealed not only by stimulation of state 4 respiration by free fatty acids accompanied by decrease in membrane potential (these effects being partially released by ATP and GTP) but mainly by lowering ADP/O ratio during state 3 respiration. Plant and microorganism uncoupling proteins are able to divert very efficiently energy from oxidative phosphorylation, competing for deltamicroH+ with ATP synthase. Functional connection and physiological role of uncoupling protein and alternative oxidase, two main energy-dissipating systems in plant-type mitochondria, are discussed.

scholarly journals Leptin Receptor Signaling in Sim1-Expressing Neurons Regulates Body Temperature and Adaptive Thermogenesis

Endocrinology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (4) ◽  
pp. 863-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isin Cakir ◽  
Myriam Diaz-Martinez ◽  
Pauline Lining Pan ◽  
E Brian Welch ◽  
Sachin Patel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Leptin Receptor ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Adaptive Thermogenesis ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Core Body

Abstract Leptin signals to regulate food intake and energy expenditure under conditions of normative energy homeostasis. The central expression and function of leptin receptor B (LepRb) have been extensively studied during the past two decades; however, the mechanisms by which LepRb signaling dysregulation contributes to the pathophysiology of obesity remains unclear. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) plays a crucial role in regulating energy balance as well as the neuroendocrine axes. The role of LepRb expression in the PVN in regard to the regulation of physiological function of leptin has been controversial. The single-minded homolog 1 gene (Sim1) is densely expressed in the PVN and in parts of the amygdala, making Sim1-Cre mice a useful model for examining molecular mechanisms regulating PVN function. In this study, we characterized the physiological role of LepRb in Sim1-expressing neurons using LepRb-floxed × Sim1-Cre mice. Sim1-specific LepRb-deficient mice were surprisingly hypophagic on regular chow but gained more weight upon exposure to a high-fat diet than did their control littermates. We show that Sim1-specific deletion of a single LepRb gene copy caused decreased surface and core body temperatures as well as decreased energy expenditure in ambient room temperatures in both female and male mice. Furthermore, cold-induced adaptive (nonshivering) thermogenesis is disrupted in homozygous knockout mice. A defective thermoregulatory response was associated with defective cold-induced upregulation of uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue and reduced serum T4. Our study provides novel functional evidence supporting LepRb signaling in Sim1 neurons in the regulation of body weight, core body temperature, and cold-induced adaptive thermogenesis.

scholarly journals Glucagon Is Essential for Adaptive Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue

Endocrinology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (9) ◽  
pp. 3484-3492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keita Kinoshita ◽  
Nobuaki Ozaki ◽  
Yusuke Takagi ◽  
Yoshiharu Murata ◽  
Yoshiharu Oshida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Brown Adipose Tissue ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Adaptive Thermogenesis ◽  
Cl 316,243 ◽  
Brown Adipose

Abstract Glucagon, a counterregulatory hormone to insulin, serves as a regulator of glucose homeostasis and acts in response to hypoglycemia. Earlier studies have shown that glucagon administration induces thermogenesis in experimental animal models. However, it is not known whether endogenous glucagon is involved in the regulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) function. Here we investigated the role of glucagon in cold-induced thermogenesis in male mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides (GCGKO mice). Upon exposure to cold, GCGKO mice exhibited a greater decrease in rectal temperature than control mice. The cold exposure-induced increase in oxygen consumption in GCGKO mice was less than that seen in control mice. Moreover, the increase in oxygen consumption after administration of a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist, CL-316,243, was also lesser in GCGKO than in control mice. Expression of thermogenic genes, including the gene encoding uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1), was reduced in the BAT of GCGKO mice under ambient as well as cold conditions. Administration of glucagon restored the expression of Ucp1 mRNA in the BAT as well as the expression of the fibroblast growth factor 21 gene (Fgf21) in the liver. Supplementation with glucagon for 2 weeks resulted in higher plasma Fgf21 levels and improved responses to CL-316,243 in GCGKO mice. These results indicated that endogenous glucagon is essential for adaptive thermogenesis and that it regulates BAT function, most likely by increasing hepatic Fgf21 production.

scholarly journals GPR120 controls neonatal brown adipose tissue thermogenic induction

2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (5) ◽  
pp. E742-E750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Quesada-López ◽  
Aleix Gavaldà-Navarro ◽  
Samantha Morón-Ros ◽  
Laura Campderrós ◽  
Roser Iglesias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Brown Adipose Tissue ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Receptor Protein ◽  
Brown Adipocyte ◽  
Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 ◽  
Acid Oxidation ◽  
Adaptive Thermogenesis ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Adaptive induction of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is essential for the survival of mammals after birth. We show here that G protein-coupled receptor protein 120 (GPR120) expression is dramatically induced after birth in mouse BAT. GPR120 expression in neonatal BAT is the highest among GPR120-expressing tissues in the mouse at any developmental stage tested. The induction of GPR120 in neonatal BAT is caused by postnatal thermal stress rather than by the initiation of suckling. GPR120-null neonates were found to be relatively intolerant to cold: close to one-third did not survive at 21°C, but all such pups survived at 25°C. Heat production in BAT was significantly impaired in GPR120-null pups. Deficiency in GPR120 did not modify brown adipocyte morphology or the anatomical architecture of BAT, as assessed by electron microscopy, but instead impaired the expression of uncoupling protein-1 and the fatty acid oxidation capacity of neonatal BAT. Moreover, GPR120 deficiency impaired fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) gene expression in BAT and reduced plasma FGF21 levels. These results indicate that GPR120 is essential for neonatal adaptive thermogenesis.

Mitochondrial Uncoupling Proteins in Mammals and Plants

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jirí Borecký ◽  
Ivan G. Maia ◽  
Paulo Arruda
Keyword(s):  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Uncoupling Proteins ◽  
Mitochondrial Uncoupling ◽  
Anion Transporter ◽  
Distinct Cluster ◽  
Mitochondrial Uncoupling Proteins ◽  
Shivering Thermogenesis ◽  
General Balance ◽  
Anion Carrier

Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) belong to a distinct cluster of the mitochondrial anion carrier family. Up to five different uncoupling protein types were found in mitochondria of mammals and plants, and recently in fishes, fungi and protozoa. They exhibit a significantly conserved structure with several motifs specific to either the whole cluster or protein type. Uncoupling proteins, as well as the whole mitochondrial anion carrier gene family, probably emerged in evolution before the separation of animal, fungi, and plant kingdoms and originate from an anion/nucleotide or anion/anion transporter ancestor. Mammalian UCP1, UCP2, UCP3, and plant uncoupling proteins pUCP1 and pUCP2 are similar and seem to form one subgroup, whereas UCP4 and BMCP1 belong to a different group. Molecular, biochemical, and phylogenic data suggest that UCP2 could be considered as an UCP-prototype. UCP1 plays its biological role mainly in the non-shivering thermogenesis while the role of the other types is unknown. However, hypotheses have suggested that they are involved in the general balance of basic energy expenditure, protection from reactive oxygen species, and, in plants, in fruit ripening and seed ontogeny.

Neural influences on trophic changes in brown adipose tissue during cold acclimation

1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (6) ◽  
pp. R874-R881 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Park ◽  
J. Himms-Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Brown Adipose Tissue ◽  
Cold Acclimation ◽  
Elevated Level ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Sympathetic Innervation ◽  
Intact Tissue ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Neural Influences

We studied the role of the sympathetic innervation in development and maintenance of increased levels of uncoupling protein (UCP) and of thyroxine 5'-deiodinase (TD) during cold-induced growth of brown adipose tissue (BAT). Interscapular BAT was unilaterally (and in some experiments, bilaterally) denervated either before acclimation to cold (4 degrees C) for 12 days or after 14 days of a total 28-day period of acclimation to cold. BAT norepinephrine was reduced to 3-7% of the normal level in denervated BAT for up to 26 days. Denervation slowed, but did not prevent, cold-induced increases in total protein, in mitochondrial GDP binding, and in mitochondrial UCP concentration, which all reached 50% or more of the elevated level in intact tissue. In contrast, TD activity did not exceed 10% of the elevated level in intact tissue at any time. Denervation after cold acclimation resulted in a very rapid loss of TD activity, a slower and selective loss (after a lag of 1 day) of UCP, and a much slower loss of tissue protein. We conclude that the sympathetic innervation is required for an optimal trophic response of BAT to cold acclimation and for maintenance in the hypertrophied state but that other factors are also involved. Induction and maintenance of TD in BAT does need the sympathetic innervation.

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