Ssu72 phosphatase is essential for thermogenic adaptation by regulating cytosolic translation
Eun-Ji Park, Hyun-Soo Kim, Do-Hyoung Lee, Su-Min Kim, Joon-Sup Yoon, Ji-Min Lee, Se Jin Im, Ho Lee, Min-Woo Lee & Chang-Woo Lee
Nature Communications
- Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is specialized for heat production and plays an important role in maintaining body temperature and energy homeostasis. During cold exposure, BAT undergoes high demands of protein synthesis.
- Here, we show that Ssu72 phosphatase is essential for mRNA translation of genes required for thermogenesis in BAT. Ssu72 expression is increased upon cold exposure and is involved in cytosolic translation through dephosphorylation of eIF2α in brown adipocytes.
- Given that enhancing BAT activity could be a promising therapeutic tool to treat metabolic diseases in humans, this study suggests metabolic benefits of targeting and increasing Ssu72 expression in patients.
- This research was published online on February 25, 2023 in Nature Communications (IF 17.694).
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36836-y]