Iron supplementation and iron accumulation promote adipocyte thermogenesis through PGC1α-ATGL-mediated lipolysis

Iron homeostasis is essential for maintaining metabolic health and iron disorder has been linked to chronic metabolic diseases. Increasing thermogenic capacity in adipose tissue has been considered as a potential approach to regulate energy homeostasis. Both mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial function are iron-dependent and essential for adipocyte thermogenic capacity, but the underlying relationships between iron accumulation and adipose thermogenesis is unclear. Firstly, we confirmed that iron homeostasis and the iron regulatory markers (e.g., Tfr1 and Hfe) are involved in cold-induced thermogenesis in subcutaneous adipose tissues using RNA-seq and bioinformatic analysis. Secondly, an Hfe (Hfe