Depletion of brown fat norepinephrine content by acute cold exposure and adrenoceptor blockade

Experiments were conducted to characterize the effects of acute cold exposure, with and without adrenoceptor blockade, on intrascapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) and adrenal catecholamine content in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Groups of animals with indwelling temperature transmitters were tested following treatment with saline, the alpha-adrenoceptor blocker phentolamine, the beta-adrenoceptor blocker propranolol, combined blockade with phentolamine plus propranolol, and the ganglionic blocker chlorisondamine. IBAT norepinephrine (NE) content was not affected in animals tested at 22 degrees C, but was reduced in 4 degrees C-exposed animals treated with phentolamine (-57%), phentolamine plus propranolol (-97%), and chlorisondamine (-42%). Adrenal NE and epinephrine (EPI) content were not altered by the treatments at 4 degrees C or 22 degrees C. None of the treatments affected the temperature of animals at 22 degrees C, but significant hypothermia occurred at 4 degrees C after chlorisondamine (-2.3+/-0.3 degrees C) and the combination of phentolamine and propranolol (-1.5+/-0.4 degrees C). These results suggest that cold exposure alone did not affect IBAT NE content, but when cold exposure was combined with adrenoceptor blockade, the sympathetic activation was sufficient to cause a reduction in IBAT NE content. In addition, alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor-mediated mechanisms contribute to the maintenance of core temperature. However, both alpha- and beta-receptor mechanisms had to be interrupted before a deficit in body temperature was detected.