Thermoporter: a new regulatory mechanism for mitochondrial calcium uniporter activity

Abstract

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) controls mitochondrial bioenergetics, and its activity varies greatly between tissues. Here, we highlight a recently identified MCU–EMRE–UCP1 complex, named thermoporter, in the adaptive thermogenesis of brown adipose tissue (BAT). The thermoporter enhances MCU activity to promote thermogenic metabolism, demonstrating a BAT-specific regulation for MCU activity.