AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 247, Issue 6 800-E807, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Defective trophic response of brown adipose tissue of myopathic hamsters
J. Triandafillou, W. Hellenbrand and J. Himms-Hagen
Hamsters with muscular dystrophy (BIO 14.6) have a smaller than normal
amount of brown adipose tissue. Two stimuli that promote growth of brown
adipose tissue in normal hamsters, short photoperiod and eating a high-fat
diet, are here shown to be without effect on brown adipose tissue of
myopathic hamsters. Cold-induced growth of brown adipose tissue occurs
normally [Am. J. Physiol. 239 (Cell Physiol. 8): C18-C22, 1980]. There is a
normal rate of turnover of norepinephrine in brown adipose tissue of the
myopathic hamster but a failure of the tissue to hypertrophy in response to
norepinephrine is unlikely since norepinephrine does not appear to mediate
the trophic response [Am. J. Physiol. 247 (Endocrinol. Metab. 10):
E793-E799, 1984]. Denervation results in a marked reduction in size
(protein content) of brown adipose tissue of normal hamsters but has very
little effect on the size of brown adipose tissue of myopathic hamsters. A
central, possibly hypothalamic, defect in the myopathic hamster is
postulated to underlie its abnormal control of brown adipose tissue
hypertrophy.
