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Cysteine 253 of UCP1 regulates energy expenditure and adipose tissue inflammation

ABSTRACT: Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is thought to be a major regulator of whole-body energy expenditure and metabolic homeostasis. However, the widely employed UCP1 loss of function model has recently been shown to have destructive effects on the entire electron transport chain of thermogenic fat. As such, the role of UCP1 in metabolic regulation in vivo remains unclear. We recently identified cysteine-253 as an allosteric site on UCP1 that elevates protein activity upon covalent modification. Here we examine the physiological importance of this site through the generation of a UCP1 cysteine-253 null mouse (UCP1 C253A), the first genetic model for selective disruption of UCP1 in vivo. UCP1 C253A mice exhibit significantly compromised thermogenic responses but display no measurable effect on fat accumulation in an obesogenic environment. Unexpectedly, instead we find that lack of cysteine-253 results in substantial immune cell infiltration and inflammatory pathology in adipose tissues of male, but not female mice. Together, our results establish the UCP1 cysteine-253 activation site as a regulator of acute thermogenesis and sex-dependent adipose tissue inflammation.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Eclipse, Orbitrap Fusion

ORGANISM(S): Mus Musculus (mouse)

TISSUE(S): Brown Adipose Tissue, Liver, Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue

SUBMITTER: Haopeng Xiao

LAB HEAD: Edward Chouchani

PROVIDER: PXD029270 | Pride | 2021-12-15

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Project description:Non-shivering thermogenesis in adipocytes is mediated by brown adipose tissue, purportedly through the sole action of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). The physiological relevance of UCP1-dependent thermogenesis has primarily been inferred from the attenuation of thermogenic output of mice genetically lacking Ucp1 from birth (germline Ucp1-/-). However, germline Ucp1-/- mice harbor secondary changes within brown adipose tissue beyond UCP1, such as reduced electron transport chain abundance. We show here that these secondary changes also encompass reduced expression of genes regulating fuel liberation, changes that would attenuate the capacity of any thermogenic pathway. Therefore, the quantitative contribution of UCP1-dependent and -independent thermogenesis is not fully understood. To mitigate the potentially confounding ancillary changes to brown adipose tissue of germline Ucp1-/- mice, we constructed mice with inducible adipocyte-selective disruption of Ucp1. We find that, while germline Ucp1-/- mice succumb to cold-induced hypothermia with complete penetrance, most mice with inducible deletion of Ucp1 maintain homeothermy in the cold. However, inducible adipocyte-selective co-deletion of Ucp1 and creatine kinase B (Ckb, an effector of UCP1-independent thermogenesis) exacerbates cold-intolerance, indicative of a negative genetic interaction and thus a parallel thermogenic function. We find no evidence for impairments in insulation or non-shivering thermogenesis in skeletal muscle that would drive this phenotype. Furthermore, following UCP1 deletion or UCP1/CKB co-deletion from mature adipocytes, moderate cold exposure triggers the regeneration of mature adipocytes that coordinately restore UCP1 and CKB to brown adipose tissue, providing further evidence of their parallel thermogenic relationship. Our findings suggest that thermogenic adipocytes utilize non-paralogous protein redundancy – through UCP1 and CKB – to promote cold-induced energy dissipation.

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Cysteine 253 of UCP1 regulates energy expenditure and adipose tissue inflammation

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