Junctophilin-2-orchestrated calcium signalosome regulates brown adipocyte thermogenesis and energy metabolism
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026 Jul 7
Abstract
Dysfunctional adipocyte calcium handling is implicated in obesity and thermogenesis. Junctophilins (JPs) stabilize calcium microdomain junctions between the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum, but whether JPs are required for adipocyte function is not known. We show that JP2 is enriched in thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT) relative to other fat depots and is downregulated under conditions of nutrient overload. Conditional knockdown of JP2 in adipocytes, and more selectively in BAT, exacerbates cold intolerance and susceptibility to diet induced obesity. Mechanistically, JP2-depleted brown adipocytes exhibit calcium handling dysfunction with elevated cytosolic calcium levels at baseline but diminished norepinephrine-induced calcium transients, reduced store-operated calcium entry. Basal cytosolic calcium overload accounts for an increase in calpain activation and ensuing downregulation of STIM1 and hormone-sensitive lipase in JP2-depleted cells. Furthermore, JP2 silencing in brown adipocytes reduced oxygen consumption rates and compromised mitochondrial structure and quality. Together, these findings demonstrate that JP2 is essential for normal calcium homeostasis in brown adipocytes and reveal a critical role for JP2 in thermogenesis and resistance to diet-induced metabolic dysregulation.
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