Abstract
Simple SummaryUncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) plays important roles in the energy balance and regulation of metabolism and in the body temperature regulation. In this survey the correlation among UCP1, body weight, rectal temperature and lipid profile was assessed in the adult horse. The findings gathered from the current survey showed that UCP1 values are not related with body weight and temperature in studied animals, but they seem to be linked to pathways involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism.This study aimed to evaluate the possible relationship among UCP1, body weight, rectal temperature and lipid profile in the horse. Thirty clinically healthy Italian Saddle geldings (6–10 years old) were enrolled after the informed owners’ consent. All horses were blood sampled and their body weight and rectal temperatures were recorded. On the sera obtained after blood centrifugation the concentration of UCP1, total lipids, phospholipids, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), triglycerides, total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDLs), low density lipoproteins (LDLs) and very low density lipoprotein fraction (VLDLs) was evaluated. Pearson’s correlation analysis was applied to assess the possible relationship between serum UCP1 concentration and the values of body weight, rectal temperature and lipid parameters. Serum UCP1 concentration showed no correlation with body weight, rectal temperature, HDLs and LDLs values, whereas it correlated negatively with serum total lipids, phospholipids, NEFAs, total cholesterol, triglycerides and VLDLs values (p < 0.0001). The findings suggest that in the adult horse the role of UCP1 is linked to the lipid metabolism rather than to thermoregulation.
Highlights
The thermogenin, named uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1), is involved in energy balance, metabolism regulation and thermogenesis pathways [1,2]
Though the contribution of beige fat cells to systemic adaptive thermogenesis is under debate, the specific uncoupling of adipocyte mitochondria remains an attractive target for the development of anti-obesity drugs in humans and animals, and to improve and renew the knowledge on the metabolic strategies implemented by organisms under certain conditions [1,12]
The serum UCP1 concentration did not correlate with body weight, rectal temperature, or high density lipoproteins (HDLs) and low density lipoproteins (LDLs) values, whereas it resulted negatively correlated with the serum values of total lipids, phospholipids, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), total cholesterol, triglycerides and VLDLs (Table 1)
Summary
The thermogenin, named uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1), is involved in energy balance, metabolism regulation and thermogenesis pathways [1,2] This protein is mainly expressed in brown adipose tissue (BAT), the main site of adaptive thermogenesis known as non-shivering heat production, in response to environmental temperature or diet [3,4]. Following proper stimulation, white adipocytes can acquire typical features of brown fat cells, including UCP1 expression [6], which may be used by the organism to increase metabolic energy expenditure. This process is termed “browning” of WAT and the implicated white adipocytes are indicated as beige fat cells which gain UCP1 expression ability and thermogenic potential [7,8,9,10,11]. Though the contribution of beige fat cells to systemic adaptive thermogenesis is under debate, the specific uncoupling of adipocyte mitochondria remains an attractive target for the development of anti-obesity drugs in humans and animals, and to improve and renew the knowledge on the metabolic strategies implemented by organisms under certain conditions [1,12]
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