Thermogenin

UCP1
Identifiers
Aliases	UCP1, SLC25A7, UCP, uncoupling protein 1
External IDs	OMIM: 113730; MGI: 98894; HomoloGene: 22524; GeneCards: UCP1; OMA:UCP1 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 4 (human)
End	140,568,961 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 8 (mouse)
End	84,025,081 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	testicle; ; parietal pleura; ; face; ; mucosa of nose; ; Ventricular system of neuraxis; ; placenta; ; ventricular zone; ; olfactory zone of nasal mucosa; ; mammary gland; ; lactiferous gland;
	Top expressed in
	intercostal muscle; ; parotid gland; ; superior surface of tongue; ; tunica adventitia of aorta; ; trachea; ; brown adipose tissue; ; sternocleidomastoid muscle; ; tunica media of zone of aorta; ; carotid body; ; ascending aorta;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	transmembrane transporter activity; purine ribonucleotide binding; long-chain fatty acid binding; cardiolipin binding; oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler activity;
Cellular component	mitochondrial envelope; membrane; mitochondrion; mitochondrial membranes; mitochondrial inner membrane; integral component of membrane;
Biological process	regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; brown fat cell differentiation; diet induced thermogenesis; ion transport; response to temperature stimulus; response to nutrient levels; cellular response to hormone stimulus; cellular response to reactive oxygen species; cellular response to fatty acid; regulation of reactive oxygen species biosynthetic process; response to cold; mitochondrial transmembrane transport; adaptive thermogenesis; mitochondrial transport; proton transmembrane transport; positive regulation of cold-induced thermogenesis;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	7350
	22227
	ENSG00000109424
	ENSMUSG00000031710
	P25874
	P12242
	NM_021833
	NM_009463
	NP_068605
	NP_033489
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Thermogenin (called uncoupling protein by its discoverers and now known as uncoupling protein 1, or UCP1) is a mitochondrial carrier protein found in brown adipose tissue (BAT). It is used to generate heat by non-shivering thermogenesis, and makes a quantitatively important contribution to countering heat loss in babies which would otherwise occur due to their high surface area-volume ratio. Recent findings indicate that the UCP1 protein plays a crucial role in thermogenesis by catalyzing the dissipative production of heat through protons derived from NADH and FADH2. These electron carriers are produced in the TCA cycle from the oxidation of acetyl-CoA, which comes from the breakdown of free fatty acids. Intriguingly, the acetyl-CoA products undergo a recycling process that facilitates their re-utilization, thereby sustaining the cycle known as the HEAT cycle.