Person:

Spiegelman, Bruce

Exercise benefits a variety of organ systems in mammals, and some of the best-recognized effects of exercise on muscle are mediated by the transcriptional co-activator PPAR-γ co-activator-1 α (PGC1-α). Here we show in mouse that PGC1-α expression in muscle stimulates an increase in expression of FNDC5, a membrane protein that is cleaved and secreted as a newly identified hormone, irisin. Irisin acts on white adipose cells in culture and in vivo to stimulate UCP1 expression and a broad program of brown-fat-like development. Irisin is induced with exercise in mice and humans, and mildly increased irisin levels in the blood cause an increase in energy expenditure in mice with no changes in movement or food intake. This results in improvements in obesity and glucose homeostasis. Irisin could be therapeutic for human metabolic disease and other disorders that are improved with exercise.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) can dissipate chemical energy as heat through thermogenic respiration, which requires uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)1,2. Thermogenesis from BAT and beige adipose can combat obesity and diabetes3, encouraging investigation of factors that control UCP1-dependent respiration in vivo. Herein we show that acutely activated BAT thermogenesis is defined by a substantial increase in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Remarkably, this process supports in vivo BAT thermogenesis, as pharmacological depletion of mitochondrial ROS results in hypothermia upon cold exposure, and inhibits UCP1-dependent increases in whole body energy expenditure. We further establish that thermogenic ROS alter BAT cysteine thiol redox status to drive increased respiration, and Cys253 of UCP1 is a key target. UCP1 Cys253 is sulfenylated during thermogenesis, while mutation of this site desensitizes the purine nucleotide inhibited state of the carrier to adrenergic activation and uncoupling. These studies identify BAT mitochondrial ROS induction as a mechanism that drives UCP1-dependent thermogenesis and whole body energy expenditure, which opens the way to develop improved therapeutic strategies for combating metabolic disorders.

The sympathetic nervous system drives brown and beige adipocyte thermogenesis via release of norepinephrine from local axons. However, the molecular basis underlying the higher levels of sympathetic innervation of thermogenic fat, compared to white fat, has remained elusive. Here we show that thermogenic adipocytes express a previously unknown, mammal-specific endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein, termed Calsyntenin-3β. Genetic loss or gain of Calsyntenin-3β in adipocytes reduces or enhances functional sympathetic innervation in adipose tissue respectively; Calsyntenin-3β ablation predisposes mice to obesity on a high fat diet. Mechanistically, Calsyntenin-3β promotes endoplasmic reticulum localization and secretion from brown adipocytes of S100b, a protein lacking a signal peptide. S100b stimulates neurite outgrowth from sympathetic neurons in vitro. S100b deficiency phenocopies Calsyntenin-3β deficiency, whereas forced expression of S100b in brown adipocytes rescues defective sympathetic innervation caused by Calsyntenin-3β ablation. Taken together, our data elucidate a mammal-specific mechanism of communication between thermogenic adipocytes and sympathetic neurons.