- Song, No-Joon;
- Choi, Seri;
- Rajbhandari, Prashant;
- Chang, Seo-Hyuk;
- Kim, Suji;
- Vergnes, Laurent;
- Kwon, So-Mi;
- Yoon, Jung-Hoon;
- Lee, Sukchan;
- Ku, Jin-Mo;
- Lee, Jeong-Soo;
- Reue, Karen;
- Koo, Seung-Hoi;
- Tontonoz, Peter;
- Park, Kye Won
Increasing the thermogenic activity of adipocytes holds promise as an approach to combating human obesity and related metabolic diseases. We identified induction of mouse PR domain containing 4 (Prdm4) by the small molecule butein as a means to induce expression of uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1), increase energy expenditure, and stimulate the generation of thermogenic adipocytes. This study highlights a Prdm4-dependent pathway, modulated by small molecules, that stimulates browning of white adipose tissue.