RVC Website: | Home | Courses | Higher Degrees | Research | Clinical Services | RVC Enterprise | Contacts | Search |

Barbara Cannon

Name: Professor Barbara Cannon
Bsc PhD Dsc
Post: Research Professor
Department: Veterinary Basic Sciences
Email: bcannon@rvc.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7468 5528
Address: Veterinary Basic Sciences
The Royal Veterinary College
Royal College Street
London NW1 0TU
Research Programme:
Lifestyle
Barbara Cannon

Barbara Cannon is a part-time professor within the Systems Biology Group.


Biography

Barbara Cannon trained in biochemistry at London University, took a PhD in physiology at Stockholm University and, after postdoctoral training in Ottawa, has been professor of physiology in Stockholm since 1983.

She was appointed part-time professor at the Royal Veterinary College in 2009. She has worked on bioenergetics and energy balance in mammals and on signal transduction in brown and white adipose tissues.

She has had numerous positions of trust, including director fo the Wenner-Gren Institute, dean of the subfaculty of biology at Stockholm University, vice president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and chairman of the Trustees of the Nobel Foundation.

Further information: http://www.wgi.su.se

Research

Barbara Cannon’s research was initially focussed on mitochondrial metabolism and an understanding of the mechanism leading to heat production in brown adipose tissue. This involved studies in isolated mitochondria and cells. Subsequent studies concerned regulation of proliferation and differentiation of brown adipocytes through adrenergic mechanisms and characterisation of the signal transduction pathways involved. Recent studies have united these aspects on order to develop our understanding of body energy balance in intact animals.

Selected Publications

  1. Zingaretti MC, Crosta F, Vitali A, Guerrieri M, Frontini A, Cannon B, Nedergaard J, Cinti S: The presence of UCP1 demonstrates that metabolically active adipose tissue in the neck of adult humans truly represents brown adipose tissue. FASEB J. 23, 3113-3120 (2009).
  2. Helena M. Feldmann, Valeria Golozoubova, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: UCP1 ablation induces obesity and abolishes diet-induced thermogenesis in mice exempt from thermal stress by living at thermoneutrality. Cell Metab. 9, 203-209 (2009).
  3. Yuan Xue, Natasa Petrovic, Renhai Cao, Ola Larsson, Sharon Lim, Shaohua Chen, Helena M. Feldmann, Zicai Liang, Zhenping Zhu, Jan Nedergaard, Barbara Cannon and Yihai Cao: Hypoxia-independent angiogenesis in adipose tissues during cold acclimation. Cell Metab. 9, 99-109 (2009).
  4. Tomas B. Walden, James A. Timmons, Pernille Keller, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: Distinct expression of muscle-specific microRNAs (myomirs) in brown adipocytes. J. Cell. Physiol. 218, 444-49 (2009).
  5. Tatiana V. Kramarova, Irina G. Shabalina, Ulf Andersson, Rolf Westerberg, Josef Houstek, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: Mitochondrial ATP synthase levels in brown adipose tissue are governed by the c-Fo subunit P1 isoform. FASEB J. 22, 55-63 (2008).
  6. Natasa Petrovic, James. A. Timmons, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard Thermogenically competent non-adrenergic recruitment in brown predipocytes by a PPARγ agonist. Am. J. Physiol. 295, E287-E296 (2008).
  7. James A. Timmons, Kristian Wennmalm, Ola Larsson, Tomas B. Walden, Timo Lassmann, Natasa Petrovic, D. Lee Hamilton, Ruth E. Gimeno, Claes Wahlestedt, Keith Baar, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: Myogenic gene expression signature establishes that brown and white adipocytes originate from distinct cell lineages. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 104, 4401-4406 (2007).
  8. Christopher J. Lelliott, Gema Medina-Gomez, Natasa Petrovic, Adrienn Kis, Helena M. Feldmann, Mikael Bjursell, Nadeene Parker, Keira Curtis, Mark Campbell, Ping Hu, Dongfang Zhang, Sheldon E. Litwin, Kimberly T. Fountain, Sihem Boudina, Mercedes Jimenez-Linan, Margaret Blount, Miguel Lopez, Aline Meirhaeghe, Mohammad Bohlooly, Maria Strömstedt, Michael Snaith, Matej Oresic, E. Dale Abel, Leonard Storlien, Barbara Cannon and Antonio Vidal-Puig: Ablation of PGC-1β results in defective mitochondrial activity, thermogenesis, hepatic function and cardiac performance PLoS Biology e-369 (2006).
  9. Irina G. Shabalina, Natasa Petrovic, Tatiana V. Kramarova, Joris Hoeks, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: UCP1 and defense against oxidative stress. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal effects on brown fat mitochondria are uncoupling protein 1-independent. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 13882-13893 (2006).
  10. Valeria Golozoubova, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: UCP1 is essential for adaptive adrenergic nonshivering thermogenesis. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 291, E350-357 (2006).
  11. Irina G. Shabalina, Tatiana V. Kramarova, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: Carboxyatractyloside effects on brown-fat mitochondria imply that the adenine nucleotide translocator isoforms Ant1 and Ant2 may be responsible for basal and fatty acid-induced uncoupling, respectively. Biochem. J. 399, 405-414 (2006).
  12. Elisabeth A. Nordstrom, Michael Ryden, Emma C. Backlund, Ingrid Dahlman, Maria Kaaman, Lennart Blomqvist, Barbara Cannon, Jan Nedergaard and Peter Arner: A human-specific role of cell death-inducing DFFA (DNA fragmentation factor-alpha)-like effector A (CIDEA) in adipocyte lipolysis and obesity. Diabetes 54, 1726-1734 (2005).
  13. Ekaterina Chernogubova, Barbara Cannon and Tore Bengtsson: Norepinephrine increases glucose transport in brown adipocytes via β3-adrenoceptors through a cAMP, PKA, and PI3-kinase-dependent pathway stimulating conventional and novel PKCs. Endocrinology 145, 269-280 (2004).
  14. Valeria Golozoubova, Hjalmar Gullberg, Anita Matthias, Barbara Cannon, Björn Vennström and Jan Nedergaard: Depressed thermogenesis but competent brown adipose tissue recruitment in mice devoid of all hormone-binding thyroid hormone receptors. Mol. Endocrinol. 18, 384-401 (2004).
  15. Håkan Thonberg, J. Magnus Fredriksson, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: A novel pathway for adrenergic stimulation of cAMP-response-element-binding protein ( CREB) phosphorylation: mediation via α1-adrenoceptors and protein kinase C activation. Biochem. J. 364, 73-79 (2002)
  16. Håkan Thonberg, Eva M. Lindgren, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: As the proliferation promoter noradrenaline induces expression of ICER (induced cAMP early repressor) in proliferative brown adipocytes, ICER may not be a universal tumour suppressor Biochem. J. 354, 169-177 (2001).
  17. Valeria Golozoubova, Esa Hohtola, Anita Matthias, Anders Jacobsson, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: Only UCP1 can mediate adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis in the cold. FASEB J. 15, 2048-2050 (2001).
  18. Johanna M. Lindquist, J. Magnus Fredriksson, Stefan Rehnmark, Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: β3- and α1-adrenergic Erk1/2 activation in Src but not Gi mediated in brown adipocytes. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 22670-22677 (2000).
  19. Anita Matthias, Kerstin B. E. Ohlson, J. Magnus Fredriksson, Anders Jacobsson, Jan Nedergaard and Barbara Cannon: Thermogenic responses in brown-fat cells are fully UCP1-dependent. UCP2 or UCP3 cannot substitute for UCP1 in adrenergically or fatty-acid induced thermogenesis. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 25073-25081 (2000)

Recent Reviews

  1. Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: Developmental biology: Neither fat nor flesh. Nature. 454, 947-948 (2008).
  2. Jan Nedergaard, Tore Bengtsson and Barbara Cannon: Unexpected evidence for active brown adipose tissue in adult humans. Am. J. Physiol. 293, E444-E452 (2007).
  3. Barbara Cannon and Jan Nedergaard: Brown adipose tissue: function and physiological significance. Physiol. Rev. 84, 277-359, (2004).

© Royal Veterinary College