Hormonal
Synthesis of the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) in brown and beige fat is essential for systemic energy homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic flexibility.
Maintaining healthy brown and beige fat function appears crucial for metabolic health. This involves exposure to cold temperatures which naturally upregulates cardiolipin synthesis. While you cannot directly 'dose' cardiolipin, supporting thermogenic capacity through cold exposure may help maintain insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility, especially if you have reduced brown fat activity.
Cardiolipin biosynthesis is robustly induced in brown and beige adipose upon cold exposure... Cardiolipin depletion in brown and beige fat abolishes adipose thermogenesis and glucose uptake, which renders animals insulin resistant.
Why this rating
Strong mechanistic evidence in mice (knockouts) and strong correlational/functional evidence in humans (expression levels, rare variant association).
Source
Cardiolipin Synthesis in Brown and Beige Fat Mitochondria Is Essential for Systemic Energy Homeostasis
Elahu G. Sustarsic et al. · Cell Metabolism · 2018
DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.05.003
More from this paper
- Disruption of cardiolipin synthesis in thermogenic fat leads to insulin resistance and reduced metabolic flexibility through a mechanism involving ER stress factor CHOP-10.Good
- Higher expression of the cardiolipin synthase gene CRLS1 in human subcutaneous adipose tissue is positively correlated with insulin sensitivity and negatively correlated with insulin resistance.Moderate
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