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Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenic Capacity Is Regulated by Elovl6.


Type

Article

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Authors

Tan, Chong Yew 
Virtue, Samuel 
Dale, Martin 
Hagen, Rachel 

Abstract

Although many transcriptional pathways regulating BAT have been identified, the role of lipid biosynthetic enzymes in thermogenesis has been less investigated. Whereas cold exposure causes changes in the fatty acid composition of BAT, the functional consequences of this remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we demonstrate that the enzyme Elongation of Very Long Chain fatty acids 6 (Elovl6) is necessary for the thermogenic action of BAT. Elovl6 is responsible for converting C16 non-essential fatty acids into C18 species. Loss of Elovl6 does not modulate traditional BAT markers; instead, it causes reduced expression of mitochondrial electron transport chain components and lower BAT thermogenic capacity. The reduction in BAT activity appears to be counteracted by increased beiging of scWAT. When beige fat is disabled by thermoneutrality or aging, Elovl6 KO mice gain weight and have increased scWAT mass and impaired carbohydrate metabolism. Overall, our study suggests fatty acid chain length is important for BAT function.

Description

Keywords

Elovl6, adaptive thermogenesis, brown adipose tissue, elongase, energy expenditure, fatty acid acyl chain length, Acetyltransferases, Adipose Tissue, Brown, Animals, Blotting, Western, Fatty Acid Elongases, Fatty Acids, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Mitochondrial Proteins, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Thermogenesis

Journal Title

Cell Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2211-1247
2211-1247

Volume Title

13

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/H013539/1)
British Heart Foundation (None)
Wellcome Trust (090662/Z/09/Z)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/H013539/2)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/H002731/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_G0802535)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/2)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J009865/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/5)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/5/B)
European Commission (277713)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_13030)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12012)
We thank the BBSRC, MRC, EU FP7 5 BetaBAT and Wellcome Trust for funding this work.