ArticlePLoS biology2020
Cell-autonomous light sensitivity via Opsin3 regulates fuel utilization in brown adipocytes.
Article in PLoS biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevention of myopia in a near-primate by supplemental indigo light suggests a hypothesis for the myopia boom.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Light and myopia: a focus on the expanding role of non-visual opsins.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Review
- Opn3 Drives Blue-Light-Induced Reduction in Lipid Droplets and Antiviral Defense.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- The physiological functions of OPN5m.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Review
- Validation of phiC31-mediated expression and functional knockout of Opn3 in the Opn3-phiC31o knock-in mouse.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Article
- Roles of sensory receptors in non-sensory organs: the kidney and beyond.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2025Review
- Article
- Hypothalamic opsin 3 suppresses MC4R signaling and potentiates Kir7.1 to promote food consumption.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Light-sensitive CaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Blue light-driven cell cycle arrest in thyroid cancer via Retinal-OPN3 complex.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Article
- Endothelin 3/EDNRB signaling induces thermogenic differentiation of white adipose tissue.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Light-responsive adipose-hypothalamus axis controls metabolic regulation.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Optogenetic therapeutic strategies for diabetes mellitus.Journal of diabetes · 2024Review
- Circadian-independent light regulation of mammalian metabolism.Nature metabolism · 2024Review
- Male rat hypothalamic extraretinal photoreceptor Opsin3 is sensitive to osmotic stimuli and light.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- Standardized In Vitro Models of Human Adipose Tissue Reveal Metabolic Flexibility in Brown Adipocyte Thermogenesis.Endocrinology · 2023Article
- The Sympathetic Innervation of Adipose Tissues: Regulation, Functions, and Plasticity.Comprehensive Physiology · 2023Article
- Somatosensory innervation of adipose tissues.Physiology & behavior · 2023Review
- GPCR in Adipose Tissue Function-Focus on Lipolysis.Biomedicines · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Opsin3 (Opn3) is a transmembrane heptahelical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with the potential to produce a nonvisual photoreceptive effect. Interestingly, anatomical profiling of GPCRs reveals that Opn3 mRNA is highly expressed in adipose tissue. The photosensitive functions of Opn3 in mammals are poorly understood, and whether Opn3 has a role in fat is entirely unknown. In this study, we found that Opn3-knockout (Opn3-KO) mice were prone to diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. At the cellular level, Opn3-KO brown adipocytes cultured in darkness had decreased glucose uptake and lower nutrient-induced mitochondrial respiration than wild-type (WT) cells. Light exposure promoted mitochondrial activity and glucose uptake in WT adipocytes but not in Opn3-KO cells. Brown adipocytes carrying a defective mutation in Opn3's putative G protein-binding domain also exhibited a reduction in glucose uptake and mitochondrial respiration in darkness. Using RNA-sequencing, we identified several novel light-sensitive and Opn3-dependent molecular signatures in brown adipocytes. Importantly, direct exposure of brown adipose tissue (BAT) to light in living mice significantly enhanced thermogenic capacity of BAT, and this effect was diminished in Opn3-KO animals. These results uncover a previously unrecognized cell-autonomous, light-sensing mechanism in brown adipocytes via Opn3-GPCR signaling that can regulate fuel metabolism and mitochondrial respiration. Our work also provides a molecular basis for developing light-based treatments for obesity and its related metabolic disorders.
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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.