| First Author | Chitraju C | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Cell Rep | Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 108348 |
| PubMed ID | 33147469 | Mgi Jnum | J:300928 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6489115 | Doi | 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108348 |
| Citation | Chitraju C, et al. (2020) Lipid Droplets in Brown Adipose Tissue Are Dispensable for Cold-Induced Thermogenesis. Cell Rep 33(5):108348 |
| abstractText | Brown adipocytes store metabolic energy as triglycerides (TGs) in 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 TGs in brown adipocytes, BAT is functional, and BA-DGAT-KO mice maintain euthermia during acute or chronic cold exposure. As apparent adaptations to the lack of TG, brown adipocytes of BA-DGAT-KO mice appear to use circulating glucose and fatty acids, and stored glycogen, to fuel thermogenesis. Moreover, BA-DGAT-KO mice are resistant to diet-induced glucose intolerance, likely because of increased glucose disposal by BAT. We conclude that TGs in BAT are dispensable for its contribution to cold-induced thermogenesis, at least when other fuel sources are available. |
