Authors:
Jieun Lee, Jessica M. Ellis, & Michael J. Wolfgang
Summary:
To understand the contribution of adipose tissue fatty acid oxidation to whole-body metabolism, we generated mice with an adipose-specific knockout of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2A−/−), an obligate step in mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid oxidation. CPT2A−/− mice became hypothermic after an acute cold challenge, and CPT2A−/− brown adipose tissue (BAT) failed to upregulate thermogenic genes in response to agonist-induced stimulation. The adipose-specific loss of CPT2 resulted in diet-dependent changes in adiposity but did not result in changes in body weight on low- or high-fat diets. Additionally, CPT2A−/− mice had suppressed high-fat diet-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in visceral white adipose tissue (WAT); however, high-fat diet-induced glucose intolerance was not improved. These data show that fatty acid oxidation is required for cold-induced thermogenesis in BAT and high-fat diet-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in WAT.
Source:
Cell Reports; Vol. 10, Issue 2, 266-279 (01/13/15)