Biology subjects

Schrauwen, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Schrauwen, P..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Probing the transcriptome response to shivering in skeletal muscle using a multilayered bioinformatics approach

Cold acclimation holds therapeutic potential for improving metabolic health. We previously demonstrated that repeated cold-induced shivering enhances insulin sensitivity in humans. However, the molecular pathways that underlie the skeletal muscle shivering response, and how these relate to beneficial physiological effects, remain poorly understood. In this study, we combined complementary bioinformatics approaches to allow in-depth analysis of the transcriptomic response of human skeletal muscle to repeated shivering. We identified a robust transcriptional signature and show a sex-specific component in the shivering skeletal muscle response, which seemed to diminish following cold adaptation. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into cold-induced muscle adaptations, shed light on potential interesting molecular targets for further investigation, and emphasize the importance of including both sexes in future cold acclimation studies.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2024

Plasma triacylglycerol length and saturation level mark healthy aging groups in humans

Complex lipids, essential components in biological processes, exhibit conserved age-related changes that alter membrane properties, cellular functions, and are implicated as biomarkers and contributors to longevity and age-related diseases. While physical activity alleviates age-related comorbidities and physical impairments, comprehensive exploration of the underlying biological mechanisms, particularly at the level of complex lipids, remains limited. However, clinical studies suggest that physical activity may counteract these age-related lipidomic changes, presenting a promising avenue for intervention. We performed lipidomic profiling of plasma from an extensively characterized cohort of young and aged individuals. Annotating 1446 unique lipid species across 24 lipid classes we found the most prominent difference in older adults was an accumulation of triacylglycerols (TGs), with lower physical activity levels associated with higher TG levels in plasma and reduced physical functionality. Remarkably, lipid species in the TG class did not accumulate uniformly. Rather, our study unveiled a negative correlation between higher physical activity levels and TGs with shorter chain length and more double bonds in this demographic. Overall, our research highlights that plasma TG length and saturation level can help mark healthy aging groups in humans. These findings deepen our understanding of how aging affects complex lipids, and the influence of physical activity on this process.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Atrial natriuretic peptide orchestrates a coordinated physiological response to fuel non shivering thermogenesis

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone controlling blood volume and arterial pressure in mammals. It is unclear whether and how ANP controls cold-induced thermogenesis in vivo. Here we show that acute cold exposure induces cardiac ANP secretion in mice and humans. Genetic inactivation of ANP promotes cold intolerance and suppresses about half of cold-induced brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation in mice. While white adipocytes are resistant to ANP-mediated lipolysis at thermoneutral temperature in mice, cold exposure renders white adipocytes fully responsive to ANP to activate lipolysis and a thermogenic program, a physiological response which is dramatically suppressed in ANP null mice. ANP deficiency also blunts liver triglycerides and glycogen metabolism thus impairing fuel availability for BAT thermogenesis. ANP directly increases mitochondrial uncoupling and thermogenic genes expression in human white and brown adipocytes. Together, these results indicate that ANP is a major physiological trigger of BAT thermogenesis upon cold exposure in mammals.

physiology↗