1997•FEBS LettersRequires access
Uncoupling protein‐3: a new member of the mitochondrial carrier family with tissue‐specific expression
Olivier Boss, Sonia Samec, Ariane Paoloni‐Giacobino, Colette Rossier, Abdul G. Dulloo, Josiane Seydoux, Patrick Muzzin, Jean‐Paul Giacobino
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Abstract
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and skeletal muscle are important sites of nonshivering thermogenesis. The uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) is the main effector of nonshivering thermogenesis in BAT and the recently described ubiquitous UCP2 [1] has been implicated in energy balance. In an attempt to better understand the biochemical events underlying nonshivering thermogenesis in muscle, we screened a human skeletal muscle cDNA library and isolated three clones: UCP2, UCP3L and UCP3S. The novel UCP3 was 57% and 73% identical to human UCP1 and UCP2, respectively, highly skeletal muscle-specific and its expression was unaffected by cold acclimation. This new member of the UCP family is a candidate protein for the modulation of the respiratory control in skeletal muscle.