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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 21.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Nutr. 2011 Aug 21;31:33–47. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-072610-145209

Table 1.

Animal models targeting brown adipose tissue–related proteins

Reference Model (KO/TG) Changes in brown adipose tissue Whole-body metabolic phenotype
(12) TG FoxC2 in fat cells Higher interscapular BAT and increased expression of C/EBPα, PPARγ, SREBP1, and metabolic rate in TG WAT Lower HFD-induced weight gain and fat accumulation and improved glucose control
(63) SRC1 KO Higher lipid infiltration and lower expression of UCP1 and PGC1α Higher HFD-induced weight gain, reduced metabolic rate, and body temperature at 4°C
(63) TIF2 KO Lower lipid infiltration and higher expression of UCP1 and PGC1α Lower HFD-induced weight gain and fat accumulation and improved glucose control. Higher metabolic rate and body temperature at 4°C
(14) SRC3 KO Lower lipid infiltration and increased mitochondrial number Lower HFD-induced weight gain and fat accumulation and improved glucose control. Higher metabolic rate, body temperature, and muscle mitochondrial content
(73) p107 KO White fat cells with multilocular lipid droplets and high UCP1 and PGC1α levels Lower WAT mass and increased metabolic rate
(87) BMP7 KO Lower BAT mass at birth Mice are not viable after birth
(87) BMP7 TG Increase in brown but not white fat mass Higher metabolic rate and body temperature and lower weight gain
(44) RIP140 KO Higher expression of UCP1 and CPT1b Lower HFD-induced weight gain and liver fat accumulation. Higher metabolic rate
(35) UCP1-Wnt10b TG Lack of functional BAT with lower expression of PGC1α and UCP1 Blunted increase in body temperature after β-agonist stimulation
(61) Adipose tissue TG twist-1 Lower expression of PGC1α and UCP1. Lower metabolic rate and mitochondrial density. Higher lipid infiltration Higher HFD-induced weight gain and lower body temperature at night
(61) Twist-1+/− Lower lipid infiltration. Higher mitochondrial number and metabolic rate Lower HFD-induced weight gain and higher body temperature at night

Abbreviations: BAT, brown adipose tissue; HFD, high-fat diet; KO, knockout mice; TG, transgenic mice; WAT, white adipose tissue.