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Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body by mass, making up approximately 40 % of total body weight. Furthermore, it accounts for the majority of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and is also highly involved in lipid metabolism. Lipids can accumulate in muscle through different distinct depots: as intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), stored as triglyceride-containing droplets within muscle cells and as intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), located between muscle fiber bundles beneath the deep muscle fascia. The muscular fat depots have been positively correlated with an increased body fat content in obesity, just like subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue (SAT and VAT, respectively). IMCL, IMAT, VAT and SAT have additionally been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

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Copper import via CTR1 supports the β3-Adrenergic thermogenic program

Tae-Il Jeon, Young-Seung Lee, Tamara Korolnek, Juyoung Kim, ... Byung-Eun Kim

Copper import via CTR1 supports the β3-Adrenergic thermogenic program

Adaptive thermogenesis requires coordinated activation of mitochondrial oxidation and metabolic remodeling, yet the signals driving this coordination are incompletely understood. Here, we show that cold exposure and β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) stimulation upregulate the high-affinity copper (Cu) importer CTR1 and promote Cu accumulation in thermogenic adipose tissues. Adipocyte-specific Ctr1 knockout (ACKO) mice exhibit markedly reduced energy expenditure and develop severe hypothermia during acute cold challenge. Proteomic analysis of brown adipose tissue (BAT) from ACKO mice reveals coordinated suppression of oxidative phosphorylation and thermogenic metabolic programs, accompanied by attenuation of lipolytic pathways. Cu deficiency also impairs cold- and β3-AR-induced lipolytic activation, including reduced HSL phosphorylation and lipid clearance in both BAT and inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Although BAT-specific Ctr1 deletion (BCKO) leaves acute β3-adrenergic responses largely intact, these mice still exhibit cold intolerance, indicating that BAT Cu homeostasis is critical for sustaining thermogenic capacity during cold challenge. Treatment with the Cu ionophore elesclomol partially restores mitochondrial oxidative capacity and improves cold tolerance in ACKO mice. Together, these findings identify CTR1-dependent Cu import as an inducible component of the β3-adrenergic thermogenic program and establish intracellular Cu availability as a key determinant of thermogenic capacity during adaptive thermogenesis.

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Copper import via CTR1 supports the β3-Adrenergic thermogenic program

Tae-Il Jeon, Young-Seung Lee, Tamara Korolnek, Juyoung Kim, ... Byung-Eun Kim

Copper import via CTR1 supports the β3-Adrenergic thermogenic program

Adaptive thermogenesis requires coordinated activation of mitochondrial oxidation and metabolic remodeling, yet the signals driving this coordination are incompletely understood. Here, we show that cold exposure and β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) stimulation upregulate the high-affinity copper (Cu) importer CTR1 and promote Cu accumulation in thermogenic adipose tissues. Adipocyte-specific Ctr1 knockout (ACKO) mice exhibit markedly reduced energy expenditure and develop severe hypothermia during acute cold challenge. Proteomic analysis of brown adipose tissue (BAT) from ACKO mice reveals coordinated suppression of oxidative phosphorylation and thermogenic metabolic programs, accompanied by attenuation of lipolytic pathways. Cu deficiency also impairs cold- and β3-AR-induced lipolytic activation, including reduced HSL phosphorylation and lipid clearance in both BAT and inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Although BAT-specific Ctr1 deletion (BCKO) leaves acute β3-adrenergic responses largely intact, these mice still exhibit cold intolerance, indicating that BAT Cu homeostasis is critical for sustaining thermogenic capacity during cold challenge. Treatment with the Cu ionophore elesclomol partially restores mitochondrial oxidative capacity and improves cold tolerance in ACKO mice. Together, these findings identify CTR1-dependent Cu import as an inducible component of the β3-adrenergic thermogenic program and establish intracellular Cu availability as a key determinant of thermogenic capacity during adaptive thermogenesis.

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13th
Helmholtz Diabetes Conference 

Munich, 21-23. Sep 2026                                                                                                                             

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