Relationship between cold-induced thermoregulation and spontaneous rapid body weight loss of aging F344 rats

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (5) ◽  
pp. R1115-R1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. McDonald ◽  
M. Florez-Duquet ◽  
C. Murtagh-Mark ◽  
B. A. Horwitz

We previously showed that, although cold-induced thermoregulation is attenuated in 26-mo-old male Fischer 344 (F344) rats, not all rats this age exhibit the same degree of cold-exposed hypothermia or diminished brown adipose tissue nonshivering thermogenic capacity. Examination of this heterogeneity suggested the hypothesis that it was associated with a difference in the physiological state between aged rats that were maintaining stable body weight versus those showing the rapid weight loss often occurring near the end of the rat's natural life span. To test this, we acutely exposed male F344 rats to cold (4 h at 6 degrees C) beginning at 24 mo of age. This exposure was weekly for the first 2 wk and then on alternate weeks as long as the rat's body weight was stable. If body weight progressively declined for 3-5 consecutive days, the rat's response to the acute cold exposure was again measured, as was that of two additional rats not displaying this rapid loss in body weight. If body temperature decreased during the cold exposure to intraperitoneal temperatures < or = 32.5 degrees C, the rat was killed with pentobarbital sodium and interscapular brown adipose tissue was removed. One of the age-matched controls was also killed at this time. The age at which body weight showed a spontaneous rapid decline ranged from 24.5 to 29 mos. All eight rats displaying spontaneous rapid weight loss had significant hypothermia during the acute cold exposure, whereas none of the eight weight-stable rats did. The development of hypothermia in the spontaneous rapid weight loss group was not, in general, observed before their weight loss. The weight loss and hypothermia were associated with lower levels of brown fat uncoupling protein and significant changes in body fat and protein. These data suggest that the development of senescence-related hypothermia occurs rapidly and is not a simple function of chronological age or the median life span of the animals. Furthermore, these data imply that the rate of aging in terms of maintenance of thermoregulatory homeostasis has both a gradual and rapid component, the latter being associated with a different physiological state than the former.

2017 ◽  
Vol 313 (6) ◽  
pp. E731-E736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjuan Wang ◽  
Xiangzhi Meng ◽  
Chun Yang ◽  
Dongliang Fang ◽  
Xuemeng Wang ◽  
...  

Loss of body weight and fat mass is one of the nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Weight loss is due primarily to reduced energy intake and increased energy expenditure. Whereas inadequate energy intake in PD patients is caused mainly by appetite loss and impaired gastrointestinal absorption, the underlying mechanisms for increased energy expenditure remain largely unknown. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a key thermogenic tissue in humans and other mammals, plays an important role in thermoregulation and energy metabolism; however, it has not been tested whether BAT is involved in the negative energy balance in PD. Here, using the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model of PD, we found that the activity of sympathetic nerve (SN), the expression of Ucp1 in BAT, and thermogenesis were increased in PD rats. BAT sympathetic denervation blocked sympathetic activity and decreased UCP1 expression in BAT and attenuated the loss of body weight in PD rats. Interestingly, sympathetic denervation of BAT was associated with decreased sympathetic tone and lipolysis in retroperitoneal and epididymal white adipose tissue. Our data suggeste that BAT-mediated thermogenesis may contribute to weight loss in PD.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 933-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart W. Mercer ◽  
Paul Trayhurn

Genetically obese (ob/ob) mice develop insulin resistance in brown adipose tissue during the fifth week of life. Prior to this, at 26 days of age, oh/oh mice show a substantial increase in GDP binding to brownadipose-tissue mitochondria during acute cold exposure. When insulin resistance in brown fat develops, by 35 days of age, the increase in GDP binding in response to cold is markedly reduced. Studies with 2-deoxyglucose suggest that insulin resistance in brown adipose tissue could impair thermogenic responsiveness during acute cold exposure by limiting the ability of the tissue to take up glucose.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Halpern ◽  
Marcio C Mancini ◽  
Caroline Mendes ◽  
Camila Maria Longo Machado ◽  
Silvana Prando ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Melatonin has been shown to increase brown adipose tissue (BAT) mass, which can lead to important metabolic effects, such as bodyweight reduction and glycemic improvement. However, BAT mass can only be measured invasively and. the gold standard for non-invasive measurement of BAT activity is positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG PET). There is no study, to our knowledge, that has evaluated if melatonin influences BAT activity, measured by this imaging technique in animals. Methods: Three experimental groups of Wistar rats (control, pinealectomy, and pinealectomy replaced with melatonin) had an 18F-FDG PET performed at room temperature and after acute cold exposure. The ratio of increased BAT activity after cold exposure/room temperature was called “acute thermogenic capacity” (ATC) We also measured UCP-1 mRNA expression to correlate with the 18F-FDG PET results. Results: Pinealectomy led to reduced acute thermogenic capacity, compared with the other groups, as well as reduced UCP1 mRNA expression.Conclusion: Melatonin deficiency impairs BAT response when exposed to acute cold exposure. These results can lead to future studies of the influence of melatonin on BAT, in animals and humans, without needing an invasive evaluation of BAT.


1989 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEIJI YOSHIOKA ◽  
TOSHIHIDE YOSHIDA ◽  
YASUO WAKABAYASHI ◽  
HITOSHI NISHIOKA ◽  
MOTOHARU KONDO

2012 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Ouellet ◽  
Sébastien M. Labbé ◽  
Denis P. Blondin ◽  
Serge Phoenix ◽  
Brigitte Guérin ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Cannon ◽  
Jan Nedergaard

According to the adipostat hypothesis for body-weight control, alterations in body weight should always be compensated by adequate alterations in food intake and thermogenesis. Thus, increased thermogenesis should not be able to counteract obesity because food intake would be increased. However evidence is presented here that thermogenesis in different forms (through artificial uncouplers, exercise, cold exposure) may counteract obesity and is not always fully compensated by increased food intake. Correspondingly, a decreased capacity for metaboloregulatory thermogenesis (i.e. non-functional brown adipose tissue) may in itself lead to obesity. This is evident in mice and may be valid for human subjects, as a substantial proportion of adults possess brown adipose tissue, and those with less or without brown adipose tissue would seem to be more prone to obesity. Thus, increased thermogenesis may counteract obesity, without dietary intervention.


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