Cold acclimation recruits human brown fat and increases nonshivering thermogenesis.

UCP1 is essential for adaptive adrenergic nonshivering thermogenesis.

Participation of brown adipose tissue [through the action of the uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1)] in adaptive adrenergic nonshivering thermogenesis is recognized, but the existence of a response to adrenergic stimulation in UCP1-ablated mice implies that a mechanism for an alternative adaptive adrenergic thermogenesis may exist. Here, we have used UCP1-ablated mice to examine the existence of an al...

The Significance of Brown Adipose Tissue for Acclimation to Cold and for Nonshivering Thermogenesis in Mice and Men

Only UCP1 can mediate adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis in the cold.

Adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis may have profound effects on energy balance and is therefore therefore is a potential mechanism for counteracting the development of obesity. The molecular basis for adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis has remained a challenge that sparked acute interest with the identification of proteins (UCP2, UCP3, etc.) with high-sequence similarity to the original uncou...

Hypoxia-independent angiogenesis in adipose tissues during cold acclimation.

The molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis in relation to adipose tissue metabolism remain poorly understood. Here, we show that exposure of mice to cold led to activation of angiogenesis in both white and brown adipose tissues. In the inguinal depot, cold exposure resulted in elevated expression levels of brown-fat-associated proteins, including uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) and PGC-1alpha. Proang...

The molecular and biochemical basis of nonshivering thermogenesis in an African endemic mammal, Elephantulus myurus.

Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) mediated nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an important avenue of thermoregulatory heat production in many mammalian species. Until recently, UCP1 was thought to occur exclusively in eutherians. In the light of the recent finding that UCP1 is already present in fish, it is of interest to investigate when UCP1 gained a thermogenic funct...