Sean M. Hartig, Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine

N-acetylaspartate (NAA), the brain's second most abundant metabolite, provides essential substrates for myelination through its hydrolysis. However, activities and physiological roles of NAA in other tissues remain unknown. In recent studies, we found aspartoacylase (ASPA) expression in white adipose tissue (WAT) governs systemic NAA levels for postprandial body temperature regulation. Using whole-body and tissue-specific knockout mouse models, we demonstrated that fat cells provided plasma NAA and suppressed postprandial body temperature elevation. Circulating factors that perform body temperature regulation are mostly unknown. This study unveils WAT-derived NAA as an endocrine regulator of postprandial body temperature and physiological homeostasis.