ArticleCell metabolism2017
Global Analysis of Plasma Lipids Identifies Liver-Derived Acylcarnitines as a Fuel Source for Brown Fat Thermogenesis.
Article in Cell metabolism, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 160 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
160 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 271 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of exposure to endocrine disruptors and energy expenditure in mice.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Pooled it
- Brown Adipose Tissue: Molecular Mechanisms of Regulation, Physiological Functions, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2026Review
- Brown fat protects against hepatic oxidative stress by remodeling the circulating metabolome.Cell metabolism · 2026Article
- Metabolites co-correlating with maternal obesity and gestational weight gain and offspring childhood obesity: a prospective birth cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Macrophage-derived itaconate is a negative regulator of adipose tissue thermogenesis.Nature metabolism · 2026Article
- Lipid metabolism of hepatocyte-like cells supports intestinal tumor growth in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The role of supraoptic hypothalamic arginine vasopressin neurons in aging-associated water balance and thermoregulatory deficits in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Exploring Acylcarnitine Metabolism Using Reverse Metabolomics.Analytical chemistry · 2026Article
- Metabolic heterogeneity and niche rewiring in bone marrow plasma cells from patients with MGUS, solitary bone plasmacytoma and multiple myeloma.Blood cancer journal · 2026Article
- Carnitine biosynthesis governs fuel switching.Cell research · 2026Article
- Energetic stress in combination with impaired fatty acid oxidation induces sequestration of CoA and adaptation of CoA metabolism.The FEBS journal · 2026Article
- Carnitine dysregulation in diabetic kidney disease: from pathogenic mechanism to precision biomarker.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Renal coenzyme A (CoA) production from VB5 fuels stem cell proliferation and tumor growth.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Emerging complexities of phospholipid metabolism in adipose tissue.Molecules and cells · 2026Review
- Links Between Autophagy and Healthy Aging.Journal of molecular biology · 2026Review
- Metabolic Heterogeneity and Niche Rewiring in Plasma Cells are Associated with Progression from MGUS to Multiple Myeloma.Research square · 2026Article
- Cold exposure and human metabolism: A heterogeneous response across tissues and organs.Temperature (Austin, Tex.) · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial control of fuel switching via carnitine biosynthesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Fructose uptake by brown adipose tissue is independent of carbohydrate response element-binding protein and does not cause elevatedActa biochimica et biophysica Sinica · 2025Article
- P2-HNF4α alters linoleic acid metabolism and mitigates soybean oil-induced obesity: role for oxylipins.Journal of lipid research · 2025Article
100 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
18 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Cold-induced thermogenesis is an energy-demanding process that protects endotherms against a reduction in ambient temperature. Using non-targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based lipidomics, we identified elevated levels of plasma acylcarnitines in response to the cold. We found that the liver undergoes a metabolic switch to provide fuel for brown fat thermogenesis by producing acylcarnitines. Cold stimulates white adipocytes to release free fatty acids that activate the nuclear receptor HNF4α, which is required for acylcarnitine production in the liver and adaptive thermogenesis. Once in circulation, acylcarnitines are transported to brown adipose tissue, while uptake into white adipose tissue and liver is blocked. Finally, a bolus of L-carnitine or palmitoylcarnitine rescues the cold sensitivity seen with aging. Our data highlight an elegant mechanism whereby white adipose tissue provides long-chain fatty acids for hepatic carnitilation to generate plasma acylcarnitines as a fuel source for peripheral tissues in mice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.