Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesAnimal StudyEurope PMCOpen access

Absence of MCJ/DnaJC15 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis

Cicuéndez B., Mora A., López JA., Curtabbi A., Pérez-García J., Porteiro B.

Animal Study, published in Nat Commun (2025) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

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Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

  • Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
  • Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
  • Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
  • Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
  • Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
Read the A–D evidence level guide

This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Animal Study
Journal
Nat Commun (2025)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
39805849
PMCID
PMC11730624
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-54353-4
Citations
4

Abstract (original English)

Obesity poses a global health challenge, demanding a deeper understanding of adipose tissue (AT) and its mitochondria. This study describes the role of the mitochondrial protein Methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ/DnaJC15) in orchestrating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Here we show how MCJ expression decreases during obesity, as evident in human and mouse adipose tissue samples. MCJ KO mice, even without UCP1, a fundamental thermogenic protein, exhibit elevated BAT thermogenesis. Electron microscopy unveils changes in mitochondrial morphology resembling BAT activation. Proteomic analysis confirms these findings and suggests involvement of the eIF2α mediated stress response. The pivotal role of eIF2α is scrutinized by in vivo CRISPR deletion of eIF2α in MCJ KO mice, abrogating thermogenesis. These findings uncover the importance of MCJ as a regulator of BAT thermogenesis, presenting it as a promising target for obesity therapy.

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

How we grade evidence
MitochondriaAnimalsMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutHumansMiceObesityMitochondrial ProteinsProteomicsThermogenesis

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