AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 246, Issue 5 418-E425, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Effects of diet and obesity on brown adipose metabolism

B. E. Levin, M. B. Finnegan, E. Marquet, J. Triscari, K. Comai and A. C. Sullivan

The effect of diet-induced obesity on interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) was assessed after feeding male Sprague-Dawley rats a high-fat diet for 3-5 mo beginning at 3 mo of age. IBAT pads in 6-mo-old obese rats were heavier (22%), had more lipid (71%), and larger unilocular cells (38%) than chow-fed controls. Mitochondrial morphology, beta-adrenergic receptor binding ([ 125I]iodocyanopindolol), and norepinephrine-stimulated lipolysis were similar in IBAT from obese and control rats. When 8-mo-old chow-fed rats were switched to the high-fat diet for 7-14 days, IBAT pads became hypercellular without cell hypertrophy and with a 70% increase in norepinephrine-induced lipolysis. However, when 8-mo-old obese rats that had been on the high-fat diet for 5 mo were switched to chow for 3 days, IBAT cellularity was unchanged, but norepinephrine-induced lipolysis was increased 70%. Therefore, in lean and obese 6- to 8-mo-old rats, short-term dietary manipulation led to metabolic activation, whereas chronic diet-induced obesity on a stable diet was associated with a return of IBAT metabolism to control levels.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. E. Levin Arcuate NPY neurons and energy homeostasis in diet-induced obese and resistant rats Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, February 1, 1999; 276(2): R382 - R387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]