METTL3 is Essential for Postnatal Development of Brown Adipose Tissue and Energy Expenditure in Mice

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2020 Apr 5

PMID 32245957

Citations 50

Authors

Yuqin Wang

Ming Gao

Fuxing Zhu

Xinzhi Li

Ying Yang

Qiuxin Yan

Linna Jia

Liwei Xie

Zheng Chen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) undergoes rapid postnatal development and then protects against cold and obesity into adulthood. However, the molecular mechanism that determines postnatal development and maturation of BAT is largely unknown. Here we show that METTL3 (a key RNA methyltransferase) expression increases significantly in interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) after birth and plays an essential role in the postnatal development and maturation of iBAT. BAT-specific deletion of Mettl3 severely impairs maturation of BAT in vivo by decreasing mA modification and expression of Prdm16, Pparg, and Ucp1 transcripts, which leads to a marked reduction in BAT-mediated adaptive thermogenesis and promotes high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and systemic insulin resistance. These data demonstrate that METTL3 is an essential regulator that controls iBAT postnatal development and energy homeostasis.

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