Microbiota Depletion Impairs Thermogenesis of Brown Adipose Tissue and Browning of White Adipose Tissue

Baoguo Li; Li Li; Min Li; Sin Man Lam; Guanlin Wang; Yingga Wu; Hanlin Zhang; Chaoqun Niu; Xueying Zhang; Xue Liu; Catherine Hambly; Wanzhu Jin; Guanghou Shui; John R Speakman

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.015

Microbiota Depletion Impairs Thermogenesis of Brown Adipose Tissue and Browning of White Adipose Tissue

Cell Rep. 2019 Mar 5;26(10):2720-2737.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.015.

Authors

Baoguo Li¹, Li Li¹, Min Li², Sin Man Lam³, Guanlin Wang², Yingga Wu², Hanlin Zhang⁴, Chaoqun Niu³, Xueying Zhang², Xue Liu¹, Catherine Hambly⁵, Wanzhu Jin⁶, Guanghou Shui³, John R Speakman⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PRC.
² State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PRC; Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
³ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC.
⁴ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PRC; Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC.
⁵ Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC; Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK; CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics (CCEAEG), Beijing 100101, PRC. Electronic address: j.speakman@genetics.ac.cn.

PMID: 30840893
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.015

Abstract

The relation between gut microbiota and the host has been suggested to benefit metabolic homeostasis. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige adipocytes facilitate thermogenesis to maintain host core body temperature during cold exposure. However, the potential impact of gut microbiota on the thermogenic process is confused. Here, we evaluated how BAT and white adipose tissue (WAT) responded to temperature challenges in mice lacking gut microbiota. We found that microbiota depletion via treatment with different cocktails of antibiotics (ABX) or in germ-free (GF) mice impaired the thermogenic capacity of BAT by blunting the increase in the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and reducing the browning process of WAT. Gavage of the bacterial metabolite butyrate increased the thermogenic capacity of ABX-treated mice, reversing the deficit. Our results indicate that gut microbiota contributes to upregulated thermogenesis in the cold environment and that this may be partially mediated via butyrate.

Keywords: IL-4; UCP1; antibiotics; beige adipocytes; brite adipocytes; brown adipose tissue; butyrate; germ free mice; gut microbiota; hermogenesis; macrophage; white adipose tissue.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue, Brown / metabolism*
Adipose Tissue, White / metabolism*
Animals
Cold Temperature
Humans
Male
Mice
Microbiota / physiology*
Thermogenesis / physiology*
Uncoupling Protein 1 / metabolism*

Substances

Uncoupling Protein 1