GHS-R in brown fat potentiates differential thermogenic responses under metabolic and thermal stresses

In response to cold or diet, fatty acids are dissipated into heat through uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue (BAT). This process is termed non-shivering thermogenesis, which is important for body temperature maintenance and contributes to obesity pathogenesis. Thermogenic enhancement has been considered a promising anti-obesity strategy. Ghrelin and its receptor Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor (GHS-R) have critical roles in energy intake, nutrient sensing, and lipid metabolism. We previously reported that global Ghsr-knockout mice have increased energy expenditure due to enhanced thermogenesis. To determine the site of action for GHS-R mediated thermogenesis, we generated brown adipocyte-specific Ghsr knockout mice (UCP1-Cre(ER)/Ghsr(f/f)) and assessed thermogenic responses under regular diet (RD) fed homeostatic metabolic state or high-fat diet (HFD) fed metabolically-impaired obese state, under normal or cold housing environment. Under a RD-feeding, UCP1-Cre(ER)/Ghsr(f/f) mice showed increased body fat and a slightly elevated core body temperature under cold but not under normal temperature. Consistently, the expression of thermogenic genes in BAT of RD-fed UCP1-Cre(ER)/Ghsr(f/f) mice was increased in reposes to cold. Under HFD feeding, HFD-fed UCP1-Cre(ER)/Ghsr(f/f) mice showed no difference in body fat or body temperature under either normal or cold exposure. Interestingly, the expression of thermogenic genes in BAT of HFD-fed UCP1-Cre(ER)/Ghsr(f/f) mice was upregulated under normal temperature but downregulated under cold exposure. Overall, our data show that GHS-R has cell-autonomous effect in brown adipocytes, and GHS-R regulates BAT thermogenic activity in a temperature- and metabolic state-dependent manner. The thermogenic effect of GHS-R in BAT is more pronounced in cold environment and differentially variable based on metabolic state; under cold exposure, GHS-R inhibition in BAT activates thermogenesis under homeostatic state but suppresses thermogenesis under obese state. Our finding collectively suggests that GHS-R in BAT, acting as a “metabolic thermostat”, differentially regulates thermogenesis in response to different metabolic and thermal stimuli.