The essential role of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase 2 enzyme in thermal homeostasis upon cold stress

• Main Authors: Hyun-Jun Park, Hye Rim Jang, Shi-Young Park, Young-Bum Kim, Hui-Young Lee, Cheol Soo Choi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2020-03-01
• Series: Experimental and Molecular Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-0402-4

Body temperature: Enzyme critical to heat production in muscle When simple sugars in the diet are scarce, skeletal muscle can still generate heat under cold conditions thanks to an enzyme that converts a metabolic byproduct into complex carbohydrates. A team led by Hui-Young Lee and Cheol Soo Choi from Gachon University’s Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute in Incheon, South Korea, showed that, under fasting conditions, mice lacking a muscle form of enzyme called fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase 2 (Fbp2) could not respond to cold exposure by the usual process of converting lactate, which builds up in muscles during intense activity, into glycogen, a type of complex sugar involved in heat production not related to shivering. After a meal, however, the same mice could adapt to extreme cold without any problem. The findings highlight the importance of Fbp2 in thermal regulation under fasting conditions.