The physiological regulation of uncoupling proteins

Despite the enormous interest in the roles of novel uncoupling proteins, there is still great uncertainty as to their mechanism and regulation. The regulation of the architypal uncoupling protein 1 from brown adipose tissue was elucidated more than 20 years ago. This review suggests that a number of the approaches and criteria developed for the study of UCP1 could with profit be applied to current investigations of the novel UCPs.