A surprising way to make heat in an unexpected part of fat cells

• RESEARCH BRIEFINGS
• 17 September 2025

Organelles called peroxisomes have been found to have a role in heat generation in fat tissue, and use a mechanism independent of the known heat-producing protein UCP1. The process involves the synthesis and degradation of monomethyl branched-chain fatty acids, driven by the lipid-synthesizing enzyme FASN and the peroxisomal enzyme ACOX2.