Brown and beige fat are specialized for energy expenditure by dissipating energy from glucose and fatty acid oxidation as heat. While glucose and fatty acid metabolism have been extensively studied in thermogenic adipose tissues, the involvement of amino acids in regulating adaptive thermogenesis remains little studied. Here, we report that asparagine supplementation in brown and beige adipocytes drastically upregulated the thermogenic transcriptional program and lipogenic gene expression, so that asparagine-fed mice showed better cold tolerance. In mice with diet-induced obesity, the asparagine-fed group was more responsive to β3-adrenergic receptor agonists, manifesting in blunted body weight gain and improved glucose tolerance. Metabolomics and 13C-glucose flux analysis revealed that asparagine supplement spurred glycolysis to fuel thermogenesis and lipogenesis in adipocytes. Mechanistically, asparagine stimulated the mTORC1 pathway, which promoted expression of thermogenic genes and key enzymes in glycolysis. These findings show that asparagine bioavailability affects glycolytic and thermogenic activities in adipose tissues, providing a possible nutritional strategy for improving systemic energy homeostasis.
https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2021108069