ENPP1 buffers extracellular cGAMP in brown adipose tissue to limit insulin resistance
glucose-uptake screen reveals brown adipose tissue (BAT) as a focal site of metabolic impairment, characterized by profound extracellular cGAMP accumulation and a selective failure of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that nutrient excess drives mitochondrial DNA leakage in brown adipocytes, triggering cGAMP production and export. Excess cGAMP directly propagates STING-dependent suppression of glucose uptake and lipogenesis in brown adipocytes. Additionally, when ENPP1-mediated clearance is compromised, extracellular cGAMP acts as a paracrine immunotransmitter that remodels the BAT microenvironment by recruiting and polarizing macrophages toward an M1-like phenotype. Together, our findings nominate the impaired ENPP1-dependent buffering of extracellular cGAMP as one mechanism by which ENPP1 variants influence metabolic homeostasis.
Authors
- Katrin J. Svensson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5376-5128)
- Valentino Sudaryo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5816-9955)
- Lingyin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4386-7926)
- Yingjie Guo
- Gabriel Grenot
- Sonny Young
- Gemini Skariah
- Songnan Wang
- Michelle Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7058-6647)
- Saranya Chidambaranathan Reghupaty
- Yu Li
- Weidong An
- Xiaochen Bai
Institutions
- Cardiovascular Institute of the South (US)
- Palo Alto Institute (US)
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-04-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.12.718013
- Primary Topic
- Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Stanford Diabetes Research Center
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases