OBJECTIVE: Non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) mediated by uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue (BAT) can be activated via the adrenergic system in response to cold or diet, contributing to both thermal and energy homeostasis. Other mechanisms, including metabolism of skeletal muscle, may also be involved in NST. However, relative contribution of these energy dissipating pathways and their adaptability remain a matter of long-standing controversy. METHODS: We used warm-acclimated (30 °C) mice to characterize the effect of an up to 7-day cold acclimation (6 °C; CA) on thermoregulatory thermogenesis, comparing inbred mice with a genetic background conferring resistance (A/J) or susceptibility (C57BL/6 J) to obesity. RESULTS: Both warm-acclimated C57BL/6 J and A/J mice exhibited similar cold endurance, assessed as a capability to maintain core body temperature during acute exposure to cold, which improved in response to CA, resulting in comparable cold endurance and similar induction of UCP1 protein in BAT of mice of both genotypes. Despite this, adrenergic NST in BAT was induced only in C57BL/6 J, not in A/J mice subjected to CA. Cold tolerance phenotype of A/J mice subjected to CA was not based on increased shivering, improved insulation, or changes in physical activity. On the contrary, lipidomic, proteomic and gene expression analyses along with palmitoyl carnitine oxidation and cytochrome c oxidase activity revealed induction of lipid oxidation exclusively in skeletal muscle of A/J mice subjected to CA. These changes appear to be related to skeletal muscle NST, mediated by sarcolipin-induced uncoupling of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum calcium ATPase pump activity and accentuated by changes in mitochondrial respiratory chain supercomplexes assembly. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that NST in skeletal muscle could be adaptively augmented in the face of insufficient adrenergic NST in BAT, depending on the genetic background of the mice. It may provide both protection from cold and resistance to obesity, more effectively than BAT.

• Keywords
• Brown adipose tissue, Mitochondrial supercomplex, Non-shivering thermogenesis, Obesity, Sarcolipin, Skeletal muscle,
• MeSH
• Adrenergic Agents metabolism   MeSH
• Adipose Tissue, Brown * metabolism   MeSH
• Mice, Inbred Strains MeSH
• Muscle, Skeletal metabolism   MeSH
• Mice, Inbred C57BL MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Obesity metabolism   MeSH
• Proteomics * MeSH
• Thermogenesis physiology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Mice MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Adrenergic Agents MeSH

Impaired thermogenesis observed in mice with whole-body ablation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1β (PGC-1β; officially known as PPARGC1B) may result from impaired brown fat (brown adipose tissue; BAT) function, but other mechanism(s) could be involved. Here, using adipose-specific PGC-1β knockout mice (PGC-1β-AT-KO mice) we aimed to learn whether specific PGC-1β ablation in adipocytes is sufficient to drive cold sensitivity. Indeed, we found that warm-adapted (30°C) mutant mice were relatively sensitive to acute cold exposure (6°C). When these mice were subjected to cold exposure for 7 days (7-day-CE), adrenergic stimulation of their metabolism was impaired, despite similar levels of thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 in BAT in PGC-1β-AT-KO and wild-type mice. Gene expression in BAT of mutant mice suggested a compensatory increase in lipid metabolism to counteract the thermogenic defect. Interestingly, a reduced number of contacts between mitochondria and lipid droplets associated with low levels of L-form of optic atrophy 1 was found in BAT of PGC-1β-AT-KO mice. These genotypic differences were observed in warm-adapted mutant mice, but they were partially masked by 7-day-CE. Collectively, our results suggest a role for PGC-1β in controlling BAT lipid metabolism and thermogenesis. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

• Keywords
• Adrenergic control, Lipid metabolism, Mice, OPA1,
• MeSH
• Adipose Tissue, Brown * MeSH
• Nuclear Proteins metabolism   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha metabolism   MeSH
• RNA-Binding Proteins metabolism   MeSH
• Thermogenesis genetics   MeSH
• Transcription Factors metabolism   MeSH
• Adipocytes MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Nuclear Proteins MeSH
• Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha MeSH
• PPARGC1B protein, human MeSH Browser
• Ppargc1b protein, mouse MeSH Browser
• RNA-Binding Proteins MeSH
• Transcription Factors MeSH