Leucine Deprivation Decreases Fat Mass by Stimulation of Lipolysis in White Adipose Tissue and Upregulation of Uncoupling Protein 1 (UCP1) in Brown Adipose Tissue

Abstract

We show for the first time that elimination of dietary leucine produces significant metabolic changes in WAT and BAT. The effect of leucine deprivation on UCP1 expression is a novel and unexpected observation and suggests that the observed increase in energy expenditure may reflect an increase in thermogenesis in BAT. Further investigation will be required to determine the relative contribution of UCP1 upregulation and thermogenesis in BAT to leucine deprivation-stimulated fat loss.