Immunohistochemical detection of human brown adipose tissue uncoupling protein in an autopsy series

We used an immunohistochemical method for the inner mitochondrial membrane uncoupling protein (UCP) to examine whether human brown adipose tissue UCP could be detected by an anti-rat UCP antibody. Samples of human brown adipose tissue were obtained at medicolegal autopsies. Fat tissue was excised fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry 1993-05, Vol.41 (5), p.759-764
Main Authors: Kortelainen, ML, Pelletier, G, Ricquier, D, Bukowiecki, LJ
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue, Brown - chemistry
Adipose Tissue, Brown - ultrastructure
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Carrier Proteins - analysis
Diverse techniques
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Infant
Ion Channels
Male
Membrane Proteins - analysis
Microscopy, Electron
Middle Aged
Mitochondrial Proteins
Molecular and cellular biology
Postmortem Changes
Time Factors
Uncoupling Protein 1
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Summary:We used an immunohistochemical method for the inner mitochondrial membrane uncoupling protein (UCP) to examine whether human brown adipose tissue UCP could be detected by an anti-rat UCP antibody. Samples of human brown adipose tissue were obtained at medicolegal autopsies. Fat tissue was excised from around the common carotid arteries and in the subscapular region and from around the thoracic aorta. The subjects were either known alcohol consumers, in which thermogenically active brown adipose tissue (BAT) is often found, or victims of sudden infant death syndrome (SID). UCP was detected in all the cases examined, even when the post-mortem time from death to autopsy reached several days, but the intensity of the immunostaining was variable. Intense staining was observed in three cases with a post-mortem time under 24 hr, but in the SID cases a strong positive staining was seen even with a post-mortem delay of 4 days. These results show that an anti-rat UCP antibody can be used for immunohistochemical detection of UCP in human brown adipose tissue and that it provides a useful method for distinguishing between white and brown fat in paraffin-embedded samples. It can be used to detect UCP in the BAT of obese and diabetic individuals and probably also in the histopathological diagnosis of brown adipose tissue lipoma, known as hibernoma.
ISSN:0022-1554
1551-5044
DOI:10.1177/41.5.8468458