The Correlation Between UCP Expression UND Cellular Metabolism

Mitochondrial anion carriers transport components of cellular metabolic pathways across the inner mitochondrial membrane. In contrast, the members of the uncoupling protein subfamily (UCP1-UCP5) were shown to transport protons, that is, in case of UCP1, a molecular basis of non-shivering thermogenesis. The exact biological functions of the other UCPs still remain elusive. However, there is increasing evidence that the UCPs' function may be linked to the cell metabolism. In our previous work 1,2,3, we have shown that the tissue distribution of particular UCPs are strikingly different.