Role of METTL20 in regulating β-oxidation and heat production in mice under fasting or ketogenic conditions.
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| Abstract | :  METTL20 is a seven-β-strand methyltransferase that is localised to the mitochondria and tri-methylates the electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) β subunit (ETFB) at lysines 200 and 203. It has been shown that METTL20 decreases the ability of ETF to extract electrons from medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase (MCAD) and glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase in vitro. METTL20-mediated methylation of ETFB influences the oxygen consumption rate in permeabilised mitochondria, suggesting that METTL20-mediated ETFB methylation may also play a regulatory role in mitochondrial metabolism. In this study, we generated Mettl20 knockout (KO) mice to uncover the in vivo functions of METTL20. The KO mice were viable, and a loss of ETFB methylation was confirmed. In vitro enzymatic assays revealed that mitochondrial ETF activity was higher in the KO mice than in wild-type mice, suggesting that the KO mice had higher β-oxidation capacity. Calorimetric analysis showed that the KO mice fed a ketogenic diet had higher oxygen consumption and heat production. A subsequent cold tolerance test conducted after 24 h of fasting indicated that the KO mice had a better ability to maintain their body temperature in cold environments. Thus, METTL20 regulates ETF activity and heat production through lysine methylation when β-oxidation is highly activated. | 
| Year of Publication | :  2018 | 
| Journal | :  Scientific reports | 
| Volume | :  8 | 
| Issue | :  1 | 
| Number of Pages | :  1179 | 
| Date Published | :  2018 | 
| URL | :  http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19615-4 | 
| DOI | :  10.1038/s41598-018-19615-4 | 
| Short Title | :  Sci Rep | 
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