Assessment of Bioenergetics in BAT Mitochondria

High-resolution respirometry is commonly used to quantify mitochondrial respiratory rates. In the respirometry chamber, a change in oxygen concentration is measured by a polarographic electrode to derive the rate of oxygen consumption (JO₂). Here, we describe our adapted protocol to bioenergetically phenotype mitochondria from mouse brown adipose tissue (BAT). Given the presence of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), mitochondria from BAT provide unique challenges and opportunities in applying high-resolution respirometry to understand energy transduction through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).