bims-mimbat Biomed News
on Mitochondrial metabolism in brown adipose tissue
Issue of 2024‒05‒05
fifteen papers selected by
José Carlos de Lima-Júnior, Washington University



  1. Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 27. pii: S2211-1247(24)00497-2. [Epub ahead of print]43(5): 114169
      Sympathetic innervation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) controls mammalian adaptative thermogenesis. However, the cellular and molecular underpinnings contributing to BAT innervation remain poorly defined. Here, we show that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) support BAT growth, lipid utilization, and thermogenic plasticity. Moreover, we find that BAT SMCs express and control the bioavailability of Cxcl12. SMC deletion of Cxcl12 fosters brown adipocyte lipid accumulation, reduces energy expenditure, and increases susceptibility to diet-induced metabolic dysfunction. Mechanistically, we find that Cxcl12 stimulates CD301+ macrophage recruitment and supports sympathetic neuronal maintenance. Administering recombinant Cxcl12 to obese mice or leptin-deficient (Ob/Ob) mice is sufficient to boost macrophage presence and drive sympathetic innervation to restore BAT morphology and thermogenic responses. Altogether, our data reveal an SMC chemokine-dependent pathway linking immunological infiltration and sympathetic innervation as a rheostat for BAT maintenance and thermogenesis.
    Keywords:  CP: Immunology; CP: Metabolism; Cxcl2; brown adipocytes; macrophage; smooth muscle cells; sympathetic innervation; thermogenesis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114169
  2. Nat Metab. 2024 Apr 29.
      Promoting brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity innovatively targets obesity and metabolic disease. While thermogenic activation of BAT is well understood, the rheostatic regulation of BAT to avoid excessive energy dissipation remains ill-defined. Here, we demonstrate that adenylyl cyclase 3 (AC3) is key for BAT function. We identified a cold-inducible promoter that generates a 5' truncated AC3 mRNA isoform (Adcy3-at), whose expression is driven by a cold-induced, truncated isoform of PPARGC1A (PPARGC1A-AT). Male mice lacking Adcy3-at display increased energy expenditure and are resistant to obesity and ensuing metabolic imbalances. Mouse and human AC3-AT are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, unable to translocate to the plasma membrane and lack enzymatic activity. AC3-AT interacts with AC3 and sequesters it in the endoplasmic reticulum, reducing the pool of adenylyl cyclases available for G-protein-mediated cAMP synthesis. Thus, AC3-AT acts as a cold-induced rheostat in BAT, limiting adverse consequences of cAMP activity during chronic BAT activation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01033-8
  3. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Apr 29. pii: S1043-2760(24)00088-2. [Epub ahead of print]
      Skeletal muscle has a major impact on total body metabolism and obesity, and is characterized by dynamic regulation of substrate utilization. While it is accepted that acute increases in mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ increase carbohydrate usage to augment ATP production, recent studies in mice with deleted genes for components of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) complex have suggested a more complicated regulatory scenario. Indeed, mice with a deleted Mcu gene in muscle, which lack acute mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, have greater fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and less adiposity. By contrast, mice deleted for the inhibitory Mcub gene in skeletal muscle, which have greater acute mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, antithetically display reduced FAO and progressive obesity. In this review we discuss the emerging concept that dynamic fluxing of mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ regulates metabolism.
    Keywords:  Ca(2+) signaling; metabolism; mitochondria; obesity; skeletal muscle
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2024.04.005
  4. Mol Metab. 2024 Apr 25. pii: S2212-8778(24)00079-6. [Epub ahead of print]84 101948
      OBJECTIVE: Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a mitochondrial protein responsible for nonshivering thermogenesis in adipose tissue, serves as a distinct marker for thermogenic brown and beige adipocytes. Ucp1-Cre mice are thus widely used to genetically manipulate these thermogenic adipocytes. However, evidence suggests that UCP1 may also be expressed in non-adipocyte cell types. In this study, we investigated the presence of UCP1 expression in different mouse tissues that have not been previously reported.METHODS: We employed Ucp1-Cre mice crossed with Cre-inducible transgenic reporter Nuclear tagging and Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (NuTRAP) mice to investigate Ucp1-Cre expression in various tissues of adult female mice and developing embryos. Tamoxifen-inducible Ucp1-CreERT2 mice crossed with NuTRAP mice were used to assess active Ucp1 expression in adult mice. Immunostaining, RNA analysis, and single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq (sc/snRNA-seq) data analysis were performed to determine the expression of endogenous UCP1 and Ucp1-Cre-driven reporter expression. We also investigated the impact of UCP1 deficiency on mammary gland development and function using Ucp1-knockout (KO) mice.
    RESULTS: Ucp1-Cre expression was observed in the mammary glands within the inguinal white adipose tissue of female Ucp1-Cre; NuTRAP mice. Ucp1-Cre was activated during embryonic development in various tissues, including mammary glands, as well as in the brain, kidneys, eyes, and ears, specifically in epithelial cells in these organs. However, Ucp1-CreERT2 showed no or only partial activation in these tissues of adult mice, indicating the potential for low or transient expression of endogenous Ucp1. While sc/snRNA-seq data suggest potential expression of UCP1 in mammary epithelial cells in adult mice and humans, Ucp1-KO female mice displayed normal mammary gland development and function.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal widespread Ucp1-Cre expression in various non-adipose tissue types, starting during early development. These results highlight the importance of exercising caution when interpreting data and devising experiments involving Ucp1-Cre mice.
    Keywords:  Adipose tissue; Brown and beige adipocytes; Epithelial cells; Mammary gland; UCP1; Ucp1-Cre
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2024.101948
  5. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 May 07. 121(19): e2311116121
      Conventionally, women are perceived to feel colder than men, but controlled comparisons are sparse. We measured the response of healthy, lean, young women and men to a range of ambient temperatures typical of the daily environment (17 to 31 °C). The Scholander model of thermoregulation defines the lower critical temperature as threshold of the thermoneutral zone, below which additional heat production is required to defend core body temperature. This parameter can be used to characterize the thermoregulatory phenotypes of endotherms on a spectrum from "arctic" to "tropical." We found that women had a cooler lower critical temperature (mean ± SD: 21.9 ± 1.3 °C vs. 22.9 ± 1.2 °C, P = 0.047), resembling an "arctic" shift compared to men. The more arctic profile of women was predominantly driven by higher insulation associated with more body fat compared to men, countering the lower basal metabolic rate associated with their smaller body size, which typically favors a "tropical" shift. We did not detect sex-based differences in secondary measures of thermoregulation including brown adipose tissue glucose uptake, muscle electrical activity, skin temperatures, cold-induced thermogenesis, or self-reported thermal comfort. In conclusion, the principal contributors to individual differences in human thermoregulation are physical attributes, including body size and composition, which may be partly mediated by sex.
    Keywords:  body fat; brown adipose tissue; cold-induced thermogenesis; energy expenditure; thermoregulation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311116121
  6. Free Radic Biol Med. 2024 Apr 25. pii: S0891-5849(24)00421-0. [Epub ahead of print]219 195-214
      Mitochondria congregate central reactions in energy metabolism, many of which involve electron transfer. As such, they are expected to both respond to changes in nutrient supply and demand and also provide signals that integrate energy metabolism intracellularly. In this review, we discuss how mitochondrial bioenergetics and reactive oxygen species production is impacted by dietary interventions that change nutrient availability and impact on aging, such as calorie restriction. We also discuss how dietary interventions alter mitochondrial Ca2+ transport, regulating both mitochondrial and cytosolic processes modulated by this ion. Overall, a plethora of literature data support the idea that mitochondrial oxidants and calcium transport act as integrating signals coordinating the response to changes in nutritional supply and demand in cells, tissues, and animals.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.04.234
  7. Nat Metab. 2024 May 01.
    MoTrPAC Study Group
      Subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) is a dynamic storage and secretory organ that regulates systemic homeostasis, yet the impact of endurance exercise training (ExT) and sex on its molecular landscape is not fully established. Utilizing an integrative multi-omics approach, and leveraging data generated by the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), we show profound sexual dimorphism in the scWAT of sedentary rats and in the dynamic response of this tissue to ExT. Specifically, the scWAT of sedentary females displays -omic signatures related to insulin signaling and adipogenesis, whereas the scWAT of sedentary males is enriched in terms related to aerobic metabolism. These sex-specific -omic signatures are preserved or amplified with ExT. Integration of multi-omic analyses with phenotypic measures identifies molecular hubs predicted to drive sexually distinct responses to training. Overall, this study underscores the powerful impact of sex on adipose tissue biology and provides a rich resource to investigate the scWAT response to ExT.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00959-9
  8. Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 30. pii: S2211-1247(24)00470-4. [Epub ahead of print]43(5): 114142
      Despite medical advances, there remains an unmet need for better treatment of obesity. Itaconate, a product of the decarboxylation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate cis-aconitate, plays a regulatory role in both metabolism and immunity. Here, we show that itaconate, as an endogenous compound, counteracts high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity through leptin-independent mechanisms in three mouse models. Specifically, itaconate reduces weight gain, reverses hyperlipidemia, and improves glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. Additionally, itaconate enhances energy expenditure and the thermogenic capacity of brown adipose tissue (BAT). Unbiased proteomic analysis reveals that itaconate upregulates key proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation and represses the expression of lipogenic genes. Itaconate may provoke a major metabolic reprogramming by inducing fatty acid oxidation and suppression of fatty acid synthesis in BAT. These findings highlight itaconate as a potential activator of BAT-mediated thermogenesis and a promising candidate for anti-obesity therapy.
    Keywords:  CP: Metabolism; brown adipocyte; itaconate; obesity; proteomics; thermogenesis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114142
  9. J Clin Invest. 2024 May 01. pii: e177726. [Epub ahead of print]134(9):
      
    Keywords:  Adipose tissue; Cell biology; Signal transduction; Therapeutics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI177726
  10. Life Sci Alliance. 2024 Jul;pii: e202402603. [Epub ahead of print]7(7):
      Excess abdominal fat is a sexually dimorphic risk factor for cardio-metabolic disease and is approximated by the waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (WHRadjBMI). Whereas this trait is highly heritable, few causal genes are known. We aimed to identify novel drivers of WHRadjBMI using systems genetics. We used two independent cohorts of adipose tissue gene expression and constructed sex- and depot-specific Bayesian networks to model gene-gene interactions from 8,492 genes. Using key driver analysis, we identified genes that, in silico and putatively in vitro, regulate many others. 51-119 key drivers in each network were replicated in both cohorts. In other cell types, 23 of these genes are found in crucial adipocyte pathways: Wnt signaling or mitochondrial function. We overexpressed or down-regulated seven key driver genes in human subcutaneous pre-adipocytes. Key driver genes ANAPC2 and RSPO1 inhibited adipogenesis, whereas PSME3 increased adipogenesis. RSPO1 increased Wnt signaling activity. In differentiated adipocytes, MIGA1 and UBR1 down-regulation led to mitochondrial dysfunction. These five genes regulate adipocyte function, and we hypothesize that they regulate fat distribution.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.26508/lsa.202402603
  11. FEBS Lett. 2024 May 02.
      Lipid metabolism hinges on a balance between lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Disruptions in this balance can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress triggering the unfolded protein response (UPR) and contribute to metabolic diseases. The UPR protein, Luman or CREB3, has recently been implicated in metabolic regulation-CREB3 knockout mice exhibit resistance to diet-induced obesity and altered insulin sensitivity. Here, we show that CREB3 activated PPARGC1A transcription from a 1 kb promoter region. An increase in CREB3 expression correlated inversely with endogenous PPARGC1A mRNA levels and genes involved in FAO. As PGC-1α encoded by PPARGC1A is a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and energy homeostasis, these findings demonstrate that CREB3 is a transcriptional regulator of PGC-1α, underlining the potential role of CREB3 in energy metabolism.
    Keywords:  CREB3; PGC‐1α; endoplasmic reticulum stress; fatty acid oxidation; metabolism; transcriptional regulation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14897
  12. Nature. 2024 May 01.
      Ischaemic diseases such as critical limb ischaemia and myocardial infarction affect millions of people worldwide1. Transplanting endothelial cells (ECs) is a promising therapy in vascular medicine, but engrafting ECs typically necessitates co-transplanting perivascular supporting cells such as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which makes clinical implementation complicated2,3. The mechanisms that enable MSCs to facilitate EC engraftment remain elusive. Here we show that, under cellular stress, MSCs transfer mitochondria to ECs through tunnelling nanotubes, and that blocking this transfer impairs EC engraftment. We devised a strategy to artificially transplant mitochondria, transiently enhancing EC bioenergetics and enabling them to form functional vessels in ischaemic tissues without the support of MSCs. Notably, exogenous mitochondria did not integrate into the endogenous EC mitochondrial pool, but triggered mitophagy after internalization. Transplanted mitochondria co-localized with autophagosomes, and ablation of the PINK1-Parkin pathway negated the enhanced engraftment ability of ECs. Our findings reveal a mechanism that underlies the effects of mitochondrial transfer between mesenchymal and endothelial cells, and offer potential for a new approach for vascular cell therapy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07340-0
  13. J Exp Biol. 2024 May 01. pii: jeb.247224. [Epub ahead of print]
      Hibernation is an extreme state of seasonal energy conservation, reducing metabolic rate to as little as 1% of the active state. During the hibernation season, many species of hibernating mammals cycle repeatedly between the active (aroused) and hibernating (torpid) states (T-A cycling), using brown adipose tissue (BAT) to drive cyclical rewarming. The regulatory mechanisms controlling this process remain undefined but are presumed to involve thermoregulatory centres in the hypothalamus. Here, we use the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and high-resolution monitoring of BAT, core body temperature (Tb), and ventilation rate, to sample at precisely defined phases of the T-A cycle. Using c-fos as a marker of cellular activity we show that although the dorso-medial hypothalamus (DMH) is active during torpor entry, neither it nor the pre-optic area (POA) show any significant changes during the earliest stages of spontaneous arousal. Contrastingly, in 3 non-neuronal sites previously linked to control of metabolic physiology over seasonal and daily time-scales, the choroid plexus (CP), pars tuberalis (PT) and third ventricle tanycytes, peak c-fos expression is seen at arousal initiation. We suggest that through their sensitivity to factors in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), these sites may mediate metabolic feedback-based initiation of the spontaneous arousal process.
    Keywords:   c-fos ; Choroid plexus; Dorsomedial hypothalamus; Golden hamster; Hibernation; Pars tuberalis; Tanycytes; Thermoregulation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.247224
  14. Nature. 2024 May 01.
      Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, the two most abundant phospholipids in mammalian cells, are synthesized de novo by the Kennedy pathway from choline and ethanolamine, respectively1-6. Despite the essential roles of these lipids, the mechanisms that enable the cellular uptake of choline and ethanolamine remain unknown. Here we show that the protein encoded by FLVCR1, whose mutation leads to the neurodegenerative syndrome posterior column ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa7-9, transports extracellular choline and ethanolamine into cells for phosphorylation by downstream kinases to initiate the Kennedy pathway. Structures of FLVCR1 in the presence of choline and ethanolamine reveal that both metabolites bind to a common binding site comprising aromatic and polar residues. Despite binding to a common site, FLVCR1 interacts in different ways with the larger quaternary amine of choline in and with the primary amine of ethanolamine. Structure-guided mutagenesis identified residues that are crucial for the transport of ethanolamine, but dispensable for choline transport, enabling functional separation of the entry points into the two branches of the Kennedy pathway. Altogether, these studies reveal how FLVCR1 is a high-affinity metabolite transporter that serves as the common origin for phospholipid biosynthesis by two branches of the Kennedy pathway.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07374-4
  15. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2024 Apr;9(4): 496-518
      The role of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) in energy dysfunction and hypertrophy in heart failure (HF) remains unknown. In angiotensin II (ANGII)-induced hypertrophic cardiac cells we have shown that hypertrophic cells overexpress MCU and present bioenergetic dysfunction. However, by silencing MCU, cell hypertrophy and mitochondrial dysfunction are prevented by blocking mitochondrial calcium overload, increase mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, and activation of nuclear factor kappa B-dependent hypertrophic and proinflammatory signaling. Moreover, we identified a calcium/calmodulin-independent protein kinase II/cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein signaling modulating MCU upregulation by ANGII. Additionally, we found upregulation of MCU in ANGII-induced left ventricular HF in mice, and in the LV of HF patients, which was correlated with pathological remodeling. Following left ventricular assist device implantation, MCU expression decreased, suggesting tissue plasticity to modulate MCU expression.
    Keywords:  heart failure; mitochondrial calcium overload; mitochondrial calcium uniporter; mitochondrial dysfunction; pathological remodeling; reactive oxygen species
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacbts.2024.01.007