Effects of Genetic Background on Thermoregulation and Fatty Acid-induced Uncoupling of Mitochondria in UCP1-deficient Mice
An interaction between free fatty acids and UCP1 (uncouplingprotein-1) leading to de-energization of mitochondria was assumed to be a key event for triggering heat production in brown fat. Recently, Matthiaset al., finding indistinguishable de-energization of isolated brown fat mitochondria by fatty acids in UCP1-deficient mice and control mice, challenged this assumption (Matthias, A., Jacobsson, A., Cannon, B., and Nedergaard, J. (1999)J. Biol. Chem.274, 28150–28160). Since their results were obtained using UCP1-deficient and control mice on an undefined genetic background, we wanted to determine unambiguously the phenotype of UCP1 deficiency with the targetedUcp1allele on congenic C57BL/6J and 129/SvImJ backgrounds. UCP1-deficient congenic mice have a very pronounced cold-sensitive phenotype; however, deficient mice on the F1 hybrid background were resistant to cold. We propose that heterosis provides a mechanism to compensate for UCP1 deficiency. Contrary to the results of Matthiaset al., we found a significant loss of fatty acid-induced de-energization, as reflected by membrane potential and oxygen consumption, in brown fat mitochondria from UCP1-deficient mice. Unlike cold sensitivity, fatty acid-induced uncoupling of mitochondria was independent of the genetic background of UCP1-deficient mice. We propose that intracellular free fatty acids directly regulate uncoupling activity of UCP1 in a manner consistent with models described in the literature.