The Role of Solute Carrier Transporters in Brown Adipocytes

Abstract

Adipose tissues, including white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT), play a critical role in regulating insulin sensitivity and energy homeostasis, making them potential targets for clinical interventions to fight against obesity. BAT utilize excess nutrients to generate heat through various mechanisms, including the presence of UCP1, which allows proton leak in the mitochondrial matrix, and the use of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) as fuel for thermogenesis. This process simultaenously clears excess serum BCAAs, which can cause insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Solute carrier (SLC) transporters, such as FATP1, ASC-1, and ThTr2, support and regulate the thermogenic activity of BAT by mediating the uptake of fatty acids, small neutral amino acids, and thiamine, respecctively. These transporters play a significant role in supporting various metabolic pathways and maintaining high thermogenic activity in BAT.