Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism
Human brain metabolism is susceptible to temperature changes. It has been suggested that the supraclavicular brown adipose tissue (BAT) protects the brain from these fluctuations by regulating heat production through the presence of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1). It remains unsolved whether inter-ind...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Metabolites |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/13/3/387 |
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| author | Mueez U-Din Eleni Rebelos Teemu Saari Tarja Niemi Katharina Kuellmer Olli Eskola Tobias Fromme Johan Rajander Markku Taittonen Martin Klingenspor Pirjo Nuutila Lauri Nummenmaa Kirsi A. Virtanen |
| author_facet | Mueez U-Din Eleni Rebelos Teemu Saari Tarja Niemi Katharina Kuellmer Olli Eskola Tobias Fromme Johan Rajander Markku Taittonen Martin Klingenspor Pirjo Nuutila Lauri Nummenmaa Kirsi A. Virtanen |
| author_sort | Mueez U-Din |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human brain metabolism is susceptible to temperature changes. It has been suggested that the supraclavicular brown adipose tissue (BAT) protects the brain from these fluctuations by regulating heat production through the presence of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1). It remains unsolved whether inter-individual variation in the expression of <i>UCP-1</i>, which represents the thermogenic capacity of the supraclavicular BAT, is linked with brain metabolism during cold stress. Ten healthy human participants underwent <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET scanning of the brain under cold stimulus to determine brain glucose uptake (BGU). On a separate day, an excision biopsy of the supraclavicular fat—the fat proximal to the carotid arteries supplying the brain with warm blood—was performed to determine the mRNA expression of the thermogenic protein <i>UCP-1</i>. Expression of <i>UCP-1</i> in supraclavicular BAT was directly related to the whole brain glucose uptake rate determined under cold stimulation (<i>rho</i> = 0.71, <i>p</i> = 0.03). In sub-compartmental brain analysis, <i>UCP-1</i> expression in supraclavicular BAT was directly related to cold-stimulated glucose uptake rates in the hypothalamus, medulla, midbrain, limbic system, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe (all <i>rho</i> ≥ 0.67, <i>p</i> < 0.05). These relationships were independent of body mass index and age. When analysing gene expressions of BAT secretome, we found a positive correlation between cold-stimulated BGU and <i>DIO2</i>. These findings provide evidence of functional links between brain metabolism under cold stimulation and <i>UCP-1</i> and <i>DIO2</i> expressions in BAT in humans. More research is needed to evaluate the importance of these findings in clinical outcomes, for instance, in examining the supporting role of BAT in cognitive functions under cold stress. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:10:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-082d0503447f4feeb726d4e3fc5d3e17 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-1989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:10:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metabolites |
| spelling | doaj.art-082d0503447f4feeb726d4e3fc5d3e172023-11-17T12:36:46ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892023-03-0113338710.3390/metabo13030387Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose MetabolismMueez U-Din0Eleni Rebelos1Teemu Saari2Tarja Niemi3Katharina Kuellmer4Olli Eskola5Tobias Fromme6Johan Rajander7Markku Taittonen8Martin Klingenspor9Pirjo Nuutila10Lauri Nummenmaa11Kirsi A. Virtanen12Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandTurku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandTurku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandDepartment of Plastic and General Surgery, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandChair for Molecular Nutritional Medicine, Technical University Munich, 85354 Freising, GermanyRadiopharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory, Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, FinlandChair for Molecular Nutritional Medicine, Technical University Munich, 85354 Freising, GermanyAccelerator Laboratory, Turku PET Centre, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandDepartment of Anesthesiology, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandChair for Molecular Nutritional Medicine, Technical University Munich, 85354 Freising, GermanyTurku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandTurku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, FinlandTurku PET Centre, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, FinlandHuman brain metabolism is susceptible to temperature changes. It has been suggested that the supraclavicular brown adipose tissue (BAT) protects the brain from these fluctuations by regulating heat production through the presence of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1). It remains unsolved whether inter-individual variation in the expression of <i>UCP-1</i>, which represents the thermogenic capacity of the supraclavicular BAT, is linked with brain metabolism during cold stress. Ten healthy human participants underwent <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET scanning of the brain under cold stimulus to determine brain glucose uptake (BGU). On a separate day, an excision biopsy of the supraclavicular fat—the fat proximal to the carotid arteries supplying the brain with warm blood—was performed to determine the mRNA expression of the thermogenic protein <i>UCP-1</i>. Expression of <i>UCP-1</i> in supraclavicular BAT was directly related to the whole brain glucose uptake rate determined under cold stimulation (<i>rho</i> = 0.71, <i>p</i> = 0.03). In sub-compartmental brain analysis, <i>UCP-1</i> expression in supraclavicular BAT was directly related to cold-stimulated glucose uptake rates in the hypothalamus, medulla, midbrain, limbic system, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe (all <i>rho</i> ≥ 0.67, <i>p</i> < 0.05). These relationships were independent of body mass index and age. When analysing gene expressions of BAT secretome, we found a positive correlation between cold-stimulated BGU and <i>DIO2</i>. These findings provide evidence of functional links between brain metabolism under cold stimulation and <i>UCP-1</i> and <i>DIO2</i> expressions in BAT in humans. More research is needed to evaluate the importance of these findings in clinical outcomes, for instance, in examining the supporting role of BAT in cognitive functions under cold stress.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/13/3/387human brown adipose tissueBATcold stimulationbrain metabolismthermogenesisUCP-1 |
| spellingShingle | Mueez U-Din Eleni Rebelos Teemu Saari Tarja Niemi Katharina Kuellmer Olli Eskola Tobias Fromme Johan Rajander Markku Taittonen Martin Klingenspor Pirjo Nuutila Lauri Nummenmaa Kirsi A. Virtanen Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism Metabolites human brown adipose tissue BAT cold stimulation brain metabolism thermogenesis UCP-1 |
| title | Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism |
| title_full | Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism |
| title_fullStr | Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism |
| title_short | Thermogenic Capacity of Human Supraclavicular Brown Fat and Cold-Stimulated Brain Glucose Metabolism |
| title_sort | thermogenic capacity of human supraclavicular brown fat and cold stimulated brain glucose metabolism |
| topic | human brown adipose tissue BAT cold stimulation brain metabolism thermogenesis UCP-1 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/13/3/387 |
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