β-arrestin-1 contributes to brown fat function and directly interacts with PPARα and PPARγ

Abstract

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) family plays central roles in brown adipose tissue (BAT) adipogenesis and contributes to body temperature maintenance. The transcriptional activity of PPAR family has been shown to be tightly controlled by cellular signal networks. β-arrestins function as major secondary messengers of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) signaling by functional interactions with diverse proteins. Here, we report that β-arrestin-1 knock-out mice show enhanced cold tolerance. We found that β-arrestin-1 directly interacts with PPARα and PPARγ through a LXXXLXXXL motif, while D371 in PPARα and L311/N312/D380 in PPARγ are required for their interactions with β-arrestin-1. Further mechanistic studies showed that β-arrestin-1 promotes PPARα- but represses PPARγ-mediated transcriptional activities, providing potential regulatory pathway for BAT function.