Functional analysis of the RNA binding protein MCRIP2

Abstract

Brown adipocytes have a thermogenic function and are involved in maintaining body temperature when cold, regulating energy consumption and metabolism. These functions are attracting attention as therapeutic targets for obesity and associated metabolic diseases. Deficiency of MAPK regulated corepressor interacting protein 2 (MCRIP2), a highly expressed gene in brown adipocytes, attenuated cold tolerance in mice. Cellular knockdown of Mcrip2 in brown adipocytes had no apparent effect on the differentiation of progenitor cells to mature cells. On the other hand, expressions of mitochondria-related genes and mitochondrial glycolysis were both significantly reduced. Taken together, these observations suggest that MCRIP2 plays an important role in maintaining normal mitochondrial function.