Taking control over intracellular fatty acid levels is essential for the analysis of thermogenic function in cultured primary brown and brite/beige adipocytes.
Thermogenesis in brown adipocytes, conferred by mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), is receiving great attention because metabolically active brown adipose tissue may protect humans from metabolic diseases. In particular, the thermogenic function of brown-like adipocytes in white adipose tissue, known as brite (or beige) adipocytes, is currently of prime interest. A valid procedure to quantify the specific contribution of UCP1 to thermogenesis is thus of vital importance. Adrenergic stimulation of lipolysis is a common way to activate UCP1. We here report, however, that in this frequently applied setup, taking control over intracellular fatty acid levels is essential for the analysis of thermogenic function in cultured brown and brite adipocytes. By the application of these findings, we demonstrate that UCP1 is functionally thermogenic in intact brite adipocytes and adrenergic UCP1 activation is largely dependent on adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) rather than hormone sensitive lipase (HSL).
['Li|Yongguo|Y|', 'Fromme|Tobias|T|', 'Schweizer|Sabine|S|', 'Schöttl|Theresa|T|', 'Klingenspor|Martin|M|']
D052437:Adipocytes, Brown D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown D052436:Adipose Tissue, White D002460:Cell Line D005227:Fatty Acids D006801:Humans D007473:Ion Channels D008049:Lipase D008066:Lipolysis D008928:Mitochondria D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins D002787:Sterol Esterase D022722:Thermogenesis D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1
thermogenesis brown adipocytes UCP1 brite adipocytes uncoupled respiration