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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

The Use of the Patch-Clamp Technique to Study the Thermogenic Capacity of Mitochondria
Published on: May 3, 2021
UCP2 is a mitochondrial transporter with an unusual very short half-life
Sophie Rousset1, Julien Mozo, Geneviève Dujardin
1CNRS-UPR 9078; Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, site Necker, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Abstract:
This study focused on the stability of UCP2 (uncoupling protein 2), a mitochondrial carrier located in the inner membrane of mitochondrion. UCP2 is very unstable, with a half-life close to 30min, compared to 30h for its homologue UCP1, a difference that may highlight different physiological functions. Heat production by UCP1 in brown adipocytes is generally a long and adaptive phenomenon, whereas control of mitochondrial ROS by UCP2 needs more subtle regulation. We show that a mutation in UCP2 shown to modify its activity, actually decreases its stability.
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