Cold induced Ucp1 expression in brown and white adipose tissue of WFS1-deficient mice

Ucp1 expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is induced by cold temperatures and is fully consistent with temperature adaptation and thermogenesis. Transcription of the Ucp1 gene is increased within minutes of cold exposure. Beige adipocytes are mainly in the subcutaneous white adipose tissues (WAT) and they arise postnatally in response to chronic cold exposure. This process is often referred as the browning of WAT. The aim of this study was to compare the cold induced metabolic and Ucp1 expression differences between WFS1-deficient mice and their wild-type littermates. Experiments were performed with 2–3 months old male and female F2 hybrids (129S6/SvEvTac × 129S6/SvEvTac). Five to twelve WFS1-deficient mice and wild-type mice were used in the study. Mice were kept at 8–12°C up to 7 days and metabolic effect was measured with calorimetric cages (TSE Phenomaster). Ucp1 expression was measured in BAT and WAT with qPCR (Applied Biosystems). The results of measurements showed that WFS1-deficient mice have significantly higher energy metabolism and higher Ucp1 expression in BAT and WAT after cold exposure. In conclusion, our results show that WFS1-deficient mice have a stronger response to cold exposure and upregulation of Ucp1 in BAT and WAT. Thus suggesting that WFS1-deficient mice have changes in regulation of thermogenesis that should be studied further.