White adipocytes contribute to energy storage, accumulating lipid droplets, whereas brown and beige adipocytes mainly function in dissipating energy as heat primarily via the action of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7) was shown to drive brown adipocyte differentiation in murine interscapular adipose tissue. Here, we performed global RNA-sequencing and functional assays on adipocytes obtained from subcutaneous (SC) and deep-neck (DN) depots of human neck and differentiated with or without BMP7. We found that BMP7 did not influence differentiation but upregulated browning markers, including UCP1 mRNA and protein in SC and DN derived adipocytes. BMP7 also enhanced mitochondrial DNA content, levels of oxidative phosphorylation complex subunits, along with PGC1α and p-CREB upregulation, and fragmentation of mitochondria. Furthermore, both UCP1-dependent proton leak and UCP1-independent, creatine-driven substrate cycle coupled thermogenesis were augmented upon BMP7 addition. The gene expression analysis also shed light on the possible role of genes unrelated to thermogenesis thus far, including ACAN, CRYAB, and ID1, which were among the highest upregulated ones by BMP7 treatment in both types of adipocytes. Together, our study shows that BMP7 strongly upregulates thermogenesis in human neck area derived adipocytes, along with genes, which might have a supporting role in energy expenditure.
Keywords: BMP7; UCP1; adipocyte; creatine cycle; obesity; thermogenesis.