scholarly journals Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis in brown adipose tissue: nuclear respiratory factor-2/GA-binding protein is responsible for the transcriptional regulation of the gene for the mitochondrial ATP synthase β subunit

1998 ◽  
Vol 331 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep A. VILLENA ◽  
Octavi VIÑAS ◽  
Teresa MAMPEL ◽  
Roser IGLESIAS ◽  
Marta GIRALT ◽  
...  

The regulation of transcription of the gene for the β subunit of the FoF1 ATP synthase (ATPsynβ) in brown adipose tissue has been studied as a model to determine the molecular mechanisms for mitochondrial biogenesis associated with brown adipocyte differentiation. The expression of the ATPsynβ mRNA is induced during the brown adipocyte differentiation that occurs during murine prenatal development or when brown adipocytes differentiate in culture. This induction occurs in parallel with enhanced gene expression for other nuclear and mitochondrially-encoded components of the respiratory chain/oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS). Transient transfection assays indicated that the expression of the ATPsynβ gene promoter is higher in differentiated HIB-1B brown adipocytes than in non-differentiated HIB-1B cells. A major transcriptional regulatory site was identified between nt -306 and -266 in the ATPsynβ promoter. This element has a higher enhancer capacity in differentiated brown adipocyte HIB-1B cells than in non-differentiated cells. Electrophoretic shift analysis indicated that Sp1and nuclear respiratory factor-2/GA-binding protein (NRF2/GABP) were the main nuclear proteins present in brown adipose tissue that bind this site. Double-point mutant analysis indicated a major role for the NRF2/GABP site in the enhancer capacity of this element in brown fat cells. It is proposed that NRF2/GABP plays a pivotal role in the co-ordinated enhancement of OXPHOS gene expression associated with mitochondrial biogenesis in brown adipocyte differentiation.

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (15) ◽  
pp. 2027-2038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyi Zhou ◽  
Stephen M. Black ◽  
Tyler W. Benson ◽  
Neal L. Weintraub ◽  
Weiqin Chen

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a unique role in regulating whole-body energy homeostasis by dissipating energy through thermogenic uncoupling. Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL) type 2 (BSCL2; also known as seipin) is a lipodystrophy-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein essential for white adipocyte differentiation. Whether BSCL2 directly participates in brown adipocyte differentiation, development, and function, however, is unknown. We show that BSCL2 expression is increased during brown adipocyte differentiation. Its deletion does not impair the classic brown adipogenic program but rather induces premature activation of differentiating brown adipocytes through cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated lipolysis and fatty acid and glucose oxidation, as well as uncoupling. cAMP/PKA signaling is physiologically activated during neonatal BAT development in wild-type mice and greatly potentiated in mice with genetic deletion ofBscl2in brown progenitor cells, leading to reduced BAT mass and lipid content during neonatal brown fat formation. However, prolonged overactivation of cAMP/PKA signaling during BAT development ultimately causes apoptosis of brown adipocytes through inflammation, resulting in BAT atrophy and increased overall adiposity in adult mice. These findings reveal a key cell-autonomous role for BSCL2 in controlling BAT mass/activity and provide novel insights into therapeutic strategies targeting cAMP/PKA signaling to regulate brown adipocyte function, viability, and metabolic homeostasis.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Huang ◽  
Sylvia Lee-Huang

Introduction: In addition to its roles as a vascular signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO) plays roles in metabolism. Mice deficient in eNOS are overweight and develop insulin resistance. It is not known whether the metabolic effects are due to primary roles of NO, or to increased visceral adiposity, leading to secondary metabolic changes. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that NO plays distinct and separable primary roles in white and brown adipogenesis, which underlie the effects on adiposity, energy metabolism, and expression of thermogenic genes. Methods: We exposed wild-type and mice carrying specific gain of function and loss of function eNOS mutations to cold at 4C for 48 hours and assessed expression of thermogenic gene programs in white and brown adipose tissue. To study cell autonomous effects, we differentiated adipocyte precursors from brown and white fat in the presence of NOS inhibitors and NO donors, as well as with siRNA to knockdown eNOS expression. Results: Cold exposure resulted in upregulation of the thermogenic gene program in brown adipose tissue. Animals carrying a gain of function mutation in eNOS showed increased UCP1 expression even without cold exposure. Induction of thermogenic genes was more pronounced in the animals with gain of function eNOS mutation. Differentiation of adipocyte precursors showed effects of eNOS on adipogenesis. Cells treated with the pharmacologic blockade (L-NAME and L-NA) as well as genetic knockdown (siRNA) showed dose-dependent inhibition of adipocyte differentiation. MitoTracker Red CMXRos staining showed that treatment with the NO donor SNAP increases mitochondrial biogenesis, while L-NAME decreases mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusions: We show that eNOS-derived NO plays distinct and separable roles in white and brown adipogenesis. In brown adipocytes, eNOS regulates the expression of the thermogenic gene program, with upregulation of expression even without cold exposure, and greater increase in response to cold. In white adipocytes, eNOS-derived NO is required for adipocyte differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis.


2012 ◽  
Vol 443 (3) ◽  
pp. 799-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Armengol ◽  
Josep A. Villena ◽  
Elayne Hondares ◽  
María C. Carmona ◽  
Hei Sook Sul ◽  
...  

Pref-1 (pre-adipocyte factor-1) is known to play a central role in regulating white adipocyte differentiation, but the role of Pref-1 in BAT (brown adipose tissue) has not been analysed. In the present study we found that Pref-1 expression is high in fetal BAT and declines progressively after birth. However, Pref-1-null mice showed unaltered fetal development of BAT, but exhibited signs of over-activation of BAT thermogenesis in the post-natal period. In C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein) α-null mice, a rodent model of impaired fetal BAT differentiation, Pref-1 was dramatically overexpressed, in association with reduced expression of the Ucp1 (uncoupling protein 1) gene, a BAT-specific marker of thermogenic differentiation. In brown adipocyte cell culture models, Pref-1 was mostly expressed in pre-adipocytes and declined with brown adipocyte differentiation. The transcription factor C/EBPδ activated the Pref-1 gene transcription in brown adipocytes, through binding to the proximal promoter region. Accordingly, siRNA (small interfering RNA)-induced C/EBPδ knockdown led to reduced Pref-1 gene expression. This effect is consistent with the observed overexpression of C/EBPδ in C/EBPα-null BAT and high expression of C/EBPδ in brown pre-adipocytes. Dexamethasone treatment of brown pre-adipocytes suppressed Pref-1 down-regulation occurring throughout the brown adipocyte differentiation process, increased the expression of C/EBPδ and strongly impaired expression of the thermogenic markers UCP1 and PGC-1α [PPARγ (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ) co-activator-α]. However, it did not alter normal fat accumulation or expression of non-BAT-specific genes. Collectively, these results specifically implicate Pref-1 in controlling the thermogenic gene expression program in BAT, and identify C/EBPδ as a novel transcriptional regulator of Pref-1 gene expression that may be related to the specific role of glucocorticoids in BAT differentiation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 263 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
J A Woodward ◽  
E D Saggerson

1. Rats were made hypothyroid by giving them a low-iodine diet with propylthiouracil for 4 weeks, or were made hyperthyroid by injection with tri-iodothyronine (T3) over a 3-day period. 2. Brown adipocytes were isolated from the interscapular depots of these animals or from their euthyroid controls, followed by isolation of mitochondria from the cells. 3. Relative to cell DNA content, hypothyroidism decreased the maximum binding (Bmax.) of [3H]GDP to mitochondria by 50%. T3 treatment increased binding by 37%. 4. These findings, which are discussed in relation to previously observed changes in brown adipose tissue after alteration of thyroid status, suggest that mitochondrial uncoupling for thermogenesis is less or more effective in hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10391
Author(s):  
Takuya Sakurai ◽  
Toshiyuki Fukutomi ◽  
Sachiko Yamamoto ◽  
Eriko Nozaki ◽  
Takako Kizaki

In recent years, brown adipose tissue (BAT), which has a high heat-producing capacity, has been confirmed to exist even in adults, and it has become a focal point for the prevention and the improvement of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases. However, the influences of obesity and physical activity (PA) on the fluid factors secreted from BAT (brown adipokines) are not well understood. In this study, therefore, we focused on brown adipokines and investigated the effects of obesity and PA. The abnormal expressions of gene fluid factors such as galectin-3 (Lgals3) and Lgals3 binding protein (Lgals3bp), whose proteins are secreted from HB2 brown adipocytes, were observed in the interscapular BAT of obese mice fed a high-fat diet for 4 months. PA attenuated the abnormalities in the expressions of these genes. Furthermore, although the gene expressions of factors related to brown adipocyte differentiation such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-α were also down-regulated in the BAT of the obese mice, PA suppressed the down-regulation of these factors. On the other hand, lipogenesis was increased more in HB2 cells overexpressing Lgals3 compared with that in control cells, and the overexpression of Lgals3bp decreased the mitochondrial mass. These results indicate that PA attenuates the obesity-induced dysregulated expression of brown adipokines and suggests that Lgals3 and Lgals3bp are involved in brown adipocyte differentiation.


1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Cadrin ◽  
M Tolszczuk ◽  
J Guy ◽  
G Pelletier ◽  
K B Freeman ◽  
...  

Brown adipose tissue mitochondria are characterized by the presence of an uncoupling protein that gives them an exceptional capacity for substrate-controlled respiration and thermogenesis. The specific localization of this protein in rat brown adipocytes was demonstrated using an immunohistochemical technique, the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method. Light microscopy observations showed that serum antibodies raised against the uncoupling protein selectively reacted with multilocular brown adipocytes. No labeling could be detected in either unilocular adipocytes, capillaries, or muscle fibers (striated and vascular smooth muscle). Staining was more intensive in certain adipocytes than in others, suggesting the presence of cellular heterogeneity. The specificity of the staining technique was demonstrated by showing that treatment of the preparations with antiserum saturated with an excess of uncoupling protein almost entirely inhibited brown adipocyte labeling. The specificity and selectivity of the PAP method allow the clear differentiation of uncoupling protein-containing adipocytes from other cellular types, suggesting that this immunohistochemical technique will represent an extremely useful tool for studying adipocyte function and differentiation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 243 (2) ◽  
pp. 617-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Roncero ◽  
M Lorenzo ◽  
M Benito

Rates of lipogenesis in foetal isolated brown adipocytes from 22-day-pregnant rats were significantly increased by lactate plus pyruvate as major substrates in the incubation medium, in comparison with the endogenous rates. Insulin stimulated foetal brown-adipocyte lipogenesis, and adrenaline or noradrenaline and isoprenaline decreased lipogenesis. Glucagon had no effect on the lipogenic rate in brown adipocytes. Progesterone administration to the mother significantly increased the rates of lipogenesis in brown adipose tissue and in isolated brown adipocytes from 22-day foetuses. Prolongation of gestation by progesterone to day 23 decreased the rates of brown-adipose-tissue lipogenesis in vivo and in isolated cells in the post-mature foetuses.


Author(s):  
Chandramohan Chitraju ◽  
Alexander Fischer ◽  
Robert V. Farese ◽  
Tobias C. Walther

SUMMARYBrown adipocytes store metabolic energy as triglycerides (TG) in multilocular lipid droplets (LDs). Fatty acids released from brown adipocyte LDs by lipolysis are thought to activate and fuel UCP1-mediated thermogenesis. Here we test this hypothesis by preventing fatty acid storage in murine brown adipocytes through brown adipose tissue (BAT)-specific deletions of the TG synthesis enzymes, DGAT1 and DGAT2 (BA-DGAT KO). Despite the absence of LDs, BA-DGAT KO mice had functional BAT and maintained euthermia during acute or chronic cold exposure. As apparent adaptations to the lack of TG, brown adipocytes of BA-DGAT KO mice appear to utilize circulating glucose and fatty acids, as well as stored glycogen to fuel thermogenesis. Moreover, BA-DGAT KO mice were resistant to diet-induced glucose intolerance, likely due to increased glucose disposal by BAT. Thus, surprisingly, TGs in BAT are dispensable for its function, in part through adaptations to utilize other fuel sources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoung Bae ◽  
Yura Jang ◽  
Heejeong Kim ◽  
Kalika Mahato ◽  
Cameron Schaecher ◽  
...  

Abstract Arsenite, a trivalent form of arsenic, is an element that occurs naturally in the environment. Humans are exposed to high dose of arsenite through consuming arsenite-contaminated drinking water and food, and the arsenite can accumulate in the human tissues. Arsenite induces oxidative stress, which is linked to metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. Brown adipocytes dissipating energy as heat have emerging roles for obesity treatment and prevention. Therefore, understanding the pathophysiological role of brown adipocytes can provide effective strategies delineating the link between arsenite exposure and metabolic disorders. Our study revealed that arsenite significantly reduced differentiation of murine brown adipocytes and mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration, leading to attenuated thermogenesis via decreasing UCP1 expression. Oral administration of arsenite in mice resulted in heavy accumulation in brown adipose tissue and suppression of lipogenesis, mitochondrial biogenesis and thermogenesis. Mechanistically, arsenite exposure significantly inhibited autophagy necessary for homeostasis of brown adipose tissue through suppression of Sestrin2 and ULK1. These results clearly confirm the emerging mechanisms underlying the implications of arsenite exposure in metabolic disorders.


1982 ◽  
Vol 242 (6) ◽  
pp. E353-E359 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bukowiecki ◽  
A. J. Collet ◽  
N. Follea ◽  
G. Guay ◽  
L. Jahjah

Cold acclimation (4 degrees C) and "cafeteria diets" increased the thermic response of rats to catecholamines. This phenomenon was accompanied by six- to eightfold increases of interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) weight, total tissue cytochrome oxidase activity, and total number of brown adipocytes. Quantitative radioautographic experiments using [3H]thymidine disclosed that cold exposure markedly enhanced the mitotic activity in blood capillaries and small-venule endothelial cells, adipose tissue interstitial cells, and preadipocytes rather than in fully differentiated brown adipocytes. IBAT mitotic index increased 70 times over control values after only 2 days of cold exposure. Thereafter, the proliferative activity progressively decreased. IBAT cell composition was modified during cold acclimation as the percentage of interstitial cells and preadipocytes increased over the other cellular types. Because brown adipose tissue is the principal site of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in homeothermal animals, it is suggested that brown adipocyte proliferation from precursor cells represents the fundamental phenomenon explaining the increased capacity of cold-acclimated animals to respond calorigenically to catecholamines.


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