Dye-based mito-thermometry and its application in thermogenesis of brown adipocytes

Mitochondrion is the main intracellular site for thermogenesis and attractive energy expenditure targeting for obesity therapy. Here, we develop a method of mitochondrial thermometry based on Rhodamine B methyl ester, which equilibrates as a thermosensitive mixture of nonfluorescent and fluorescent resonance forms. Using this approach, we are able to demonstrate that the efficacy of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis is low, and measure the maximum transient rate of temperature increase in brown adipocytes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s41048-017-0039-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.