Function of uncoupling protein 2 in the brain

解偶联蛋白2（Uncoupling protein 2，UCP2）是1997年发现的一种蛋白质，与UCP1（UCP的原型）具有58%的同源性，因此被命名为UCP2。与UCP1（一种在棕色脂肪组织中发现的产热蛋白）相反，UCP2在几种不发挥产热功能的组织中表达。UCP2的一个可能的功能是控制活性氧（ROS）的产生，其倾向于赋予该蛋白质在炎症和神经退行性疾病期间观察到的ROS诱导的细胞损伤中的作用。它在人类中表达，其显著特征之一是它以预测神经内分泌、行为、自主神经和神经保护功能的模式分布在大脑中。最近的研究已经将重点放在脑UCP2在能量稳态和神经保护中的作用上。

Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), discovered in 1997 and named UCP2 because of its homology of sequence (58%) with UCP1 (the archetypical UCP), has been reported in recent years to be involved in many biological functions, which have yet to be fully unravelled. In contrast to UCP1, a thermogenic protein found in brown adipose tissue, UCP2 is expressed in several tissues where it does not exert a thermogenic function. One probable function of UCP2 is the control of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which tends to confer a role for this protein in the ROS-induced cellular damages observed during inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. It is expressed in humans and one of its striking features is that it is distributed in the brain in a pattern forecasting neuroendocrine, behavioural, autonomic and neuroprotective functions. Recent studies have brought the focus on the role that brain UCP2 can play in energy homeostasis and neuroprotection.