Programming mediated by fatty acids affects uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) in brown adipose tissue

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has recently been given more attention for the part it plays in obesity. BAT can generate great amounts of heat through thermogenesis by the activation of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1), which can be regulated by many environmental factors such as diet. Moreover, the build-up of BAT relates to maternal nutritional changes during pregnancy and lactation. However, at present, there is a limited number of studies looking at maternal nutrition and BAT development, and it seems that the research trend in this field has been considerably declining since the 1980s. There is much to discover yet about the role of different fatty acids on the development of BAT and the activation of UCP-1 during the fetal and the postnatal periods of life. A better understanding of the impact of nutritional intervention on the epigenetic regulation of BAT could lead to new preventive care for metabolic diseases such as obesity. It is important to know in which circumstances lipids could programme BAT during pregnancy and lactation. The modification of maternal dietary fatty acids, amount and composition, during pregnancy and lactation might be a promising strategy for the prevention of obesity in the offspring and future generations.

Impact of Maternal Obesity on the Metabolism and Bioavailability of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

“…However, the results of these studies are heterogenous. A study in mice with maternal EPA + DHA-rich fish oil supplementation potentiated the development of fetal brown adipose tissue, a crucial regulator of energy expenditure that reduces the susceptibility to develop obesity [179,180]. On the other hand, male and female rat offspring born to dams supplemented with a diet enriched with EPA and DHA exhibited large subcutaneous fat depots without effect on the expression of adipogenic or lipogenic genes in adipose tissue at early postnatal life [178,181].…”

Integrated Analysis of Liver Transcriptome, miRNA, and Proteome of Chinese Indigenous Breed Ningxiang Pig in Three Developmental Stages Uncovers Significant miRNA–mRNA–Protein Networks in Lipid Metabolism

“…In addition, 11 negative DE miRNA/DE mRNA involved in key biological processes such as growth and development, glucose metabolism, and FA synthesis, were selected from the 90 vs. 30 d, 90 vs. 210 d, and 210 vs. 30 d groups, respectively, and quantified by qRT-PCR to verify the transcriptome results ( Supplementary Figure 3 ). For example, the synthesis of unsaturated FAs [Chr10_25757- FADS3 and ssc-miR-671-5p- ECHDC1 ( Linster et al, 2011 ; Dewulf et al, 2019 )], FA transport [ssc-miR-874- SLC27A3 and Chr03_9333- SLC27A1 ( Gallardo et al, 2013 )], and FA metabolism [ssc-miR-4332- UCP ( Argentato et al, 2018 ) and ssc-miR-885-3p- CCN4 ( Tacke et al, 2018 )]. Meanwhile, PRM data were combined to verify the changes of key proteins involved in FA synthesis in the proteome, and serve as Supplementary Figure 4 in the discussion.…”

Anti-obesity effect of simvastatin and omega-3 and its combination on obese model male Wistar rats

“…However, the differentiation of precursors cells into brown/brite adipocytes requires specific transcriptional regulators that are responsible for the acquisition of their differential "thermogenic" feature including PRDM16 protein which has been revealed as a key element for the differentiation of both brown and brite adipocytes and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma co-activator 1α (PGC1α) (20,30) . However, according to previous study; the expected thermogenesis mechanism could be postulated as the following; PPAR γ recruits PRDM16 transcription factor to form a core transcription complex (31) and PPAR γ/ PRDM16 complex recruits Pgc-1α (32) , Pgc-1α, which considered as a transcriptional co-activator , activates cAMP dependent PKA, responsible for lipolysis and thermogenesis in BAT through β3 receptor control under NE (33) ; and this leads to increased expression of UCP 1 in brown/beige adipose tissue which may subsequently contribute to energy expenditure with a possibility to reduce obesity and metabolic disorders (20,34,35) . Brown adipose tissue (BAT) considered as an important thermogenic tissue; the thermogenic mechanism occurs when free fatty acids are burned in brown adipocytes during uncoupling respiration when uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) are inserted in the inner mitochondrial membrane to produce the heat necessary for maintenance of the euthermic state (36) .…”