A standardized infrared imaging technique that specifically detects UCP1-mediated thermogenesis in vivo

Justin D Crane; Emilio P Mottillo; Troy H Farncombe; Katherine M Morrison; Gregory R Steinberg

doi:10.1016/j.molmet.2014.04.007

A standardized infrared imaging technique that specifically detects UCP1-mediated thermogenesis in vivo

Mol Metab. 2014 Apr 21;3(4):490-4. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2014.04.007. eCollection 2014 Jul.

Authors

Justin D Crane¹, Emilio P Mottillo², Troy H Farncombe³, Katherine M Morrison⁴, Gregory R Steinberg²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada ; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada ; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada.
² Department of Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada ; Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada.
³ Department of Nuclear Medicine, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada ; Department of Radiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada.

Abstract

The activation and expansion of brown adipose tissue (BAT) has emerged as a promising strategy to counter obesity and the metabolic syndrome by increasing energy expenditure. The subsequent testing and validation of novel agents that augment BAT necessitates accurate pre-clinical measurements in rodents regarding the capacity for BAT-derived thermogenesis. We present a novel method to measure BAT thermogenesis using infrared imaging following β3-adrenoreceptor stimulation in mice. We show that the increased body surface temperature observed using this method is due solely to uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1)-mediated thermogenesis and that this technique is able to discern differences in BAT activity in mice acclimated to 23 °C or thermoneutrality (30 °C). These findings represent the first standardized method utilizing infrared imaging to specifically detect UCP1 activity in vivo.

Keywords: BAT; Beige fat; Brite fat; Brown adipose tissue; Brown fat; CT, computed tomography; Diabetes; FDG-PET, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; MRS, magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Metabolism; Obesity; Thermography; Uncoupling protein-1; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging.