Cell
Volume 98, Issue 1, 9 July 1999, Pages 115-124
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Article
Mechanisms Controlling Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Respiration through the Thermogenic Coactivator PGC-1

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Abstract

Mitochondrial number and function are altered in response to external stimuli in eukaryotes. While several transcription/replication factors directly regulate mitochondrial genes, the coordination of these factors into a program responsive to the environment is not understood. We show here that PGC-1, a cold-inducible coactivator of nuclear receptors, stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration in muscle cells through an induction of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2) and through regulation of the nuclear respiratory factors (NRFs). PGC-1 stimulates a powerful induction of NRF-1 and NRF-2 gene expression; in addition, PGC-1 binds to and coactivates the transcriptional function of NRF-1 on the promoter for mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA), a direct regulator of mitochondrial DNA replication/transcription. These data elucidate a pathway that directly links external physiological stimuli to the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and function.

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