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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Isolating Brown Adipocytes from Murine Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue for Gene and Protein Expression Analysis
Published on: March 12, 2021
A novel brown adipocyte-enriched long non-coding RNA that is required for brown adipocyte differentiation and
Yan Xiong1, Feng Yue2, Zhihao Jia2
1Laboratory of Animal Fat Deposition and Muscle Development, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
Abstract:
The thermogenic activities of brown and beige adipocytes can be exploited to reduce energy surplus and counteract obesity. Recent RNA sequencing studies have uncovered a number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) uniquely expressed in white and brown adipose tissues (WAT and BAT), but whether and how these lncRNAs function in adipogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we report the identification of a novel brown adipocyte-enriched LncRNA (AK079912), and its nuclear localization, function and regulation. The expression of AK079912 increases during brown preadipocyte differentiation and in response to cold-stimulated browning of white adipocytes. Knockdown of AK079912 inhibits brown preadipocyte differentiation, manifested by reductions in lipid accumulation and down-regulation of adipogenic and BAT-specific genes. Conversely, ectopic expression of AK079912 in white preadipocytes up-regulates the expression of genes involved in thermogenesis. Mechanistically, inhibition of AK079912 reduces mitochondrial copy number and protein levels of mitochondria electron transport chain (ETC) complexes, whereas AK079912 overexpression increases the levels of ETC proteins. Lastly, reporter and pharmacological assays identify Pparγ as an upstream regulator of AK079912. These results provide new insights into the function of non-coding RNAs in brown adipogenesis and regulating browning of white adipocytes.
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