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Protein / target

Mitochondrial brown fat uncoupling protein 1

Encoded byUCP1P25874Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Structure with Ligand
2
Research papers

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler

Strongest disease association

Colitis, Ulcerative

Via encoding gene UCP1 · Genetic evidence · score 0.38

Research activity

Emerging research

2 papers · latest 2024

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Mitochondrial protein responsible for thermogenic respiration, a specialized capacity of brown adipose tissue and beige fat that participates in non-shivering adaptive thermogenesis to temperature and diet variations and more generally to the regulation of energy balance.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Mitochondrial protein responsible for thermogenic respiration, a specialized capacity of brown adipose tissue and beige fat that participates in non-shivering adaptive thermogenesis to temperature and diet variations and more generally to the regulation of energy balance (By similarity). Functions as a long-chain fatty acid/LCFA and proton symporter, simultaneously transporting one LCFA and one proton through the inner mitochondrial membrane (PubMed:24196960, PubMed:28781081). However, LCFAs remaining associated with the transporter via their hydrophobic tails, it results in an apparent transport of protons activated by LCFAs. Thereby, dissipates the mitochondrial proton gradient and converts the energy of substrate oxydation into heat instead of ATP. Regulates the production of reactive oxygen species/ROS by mitochondria (By similarity)

Subcellular location

Mitochondrion inner membrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (25)

Gene Ontology

  • Cmitochondrial inner membrane
  • Cmitochondrion
  • Fcardiolipin binding
  • FGDP binding
  • FGTP binding
  • Flong-chain fatty acid binding
  • Foxidative phosphorylation uncoupler activity
  • Fproton transmembrane transporter activity
  • Fpurine ribonucleotide binding
  • Ftransmembrane transporter activity
  • Padaptive thermogenesis
  • Pbrown fat cell differentiation

307 aa · 33 kDa

Biological roles

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Lipid & lipoprotein metabolismUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

Lipid & lipoprotein metabolism

  • ·Mitochondrial protein responsible for thermogenic respiration, a specialized capacity of…
  • ·long-chain fatty acid binding
  • ·cellular response to fatty acid

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene UCP1

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene UCP1that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Colitis, Ulcerative
0.38Limited support

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.23

Obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency
0.23Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.12 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Obesity disorder
0.14Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.11 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
0.13Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.10 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Neoplasms
0.13Preliminary

Literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.10 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

View evidence synthesis (5)
Colitis, UlcerativeLimited support
0.38
agreement 0.260.50
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.23 · 1 independent evidence family

Obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiencyPreliminary
0.23
agreement 0.060.41
Literature55%Animal model45%

Open Targets aggregate 0.12 · 2 independent evidence families · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Obesity disorderPreliminary
0.14
agreement 0.000.41
Literature100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.11 · 1 independent evidence family · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Preliminary
0.13
agreement 0.000.40
Literature100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.10 · 1 independent evidence family · no direct causal or clinical evidence

NeoplasmsPreliminary
0.13
agreement 0.000.40
Literature100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.10 · 1 independent evidence family · no direct causal or clinical evidence

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Colitis, Ulcerative0.23
Obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency0.12
Obesity disorder0.11
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 20.10
Neoplasms0.10
Breast Neoplasms0.10
Hydrops fetalis0.10
Acute Kidney Injury0.09

Tractability

Small moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (structure with ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot sigp or tmhmm) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (2)
SM · Structure with LigandAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMM

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Research activity

2 papers · to 2024

Papers linked directly to this protein. This is the protein's own literature — descriptor-derived papers are kept separate below.

Most cited

Recent

Europe PMC papers linked directly to this protein.