Effects of mental stress on lipolysis in humans

Lipid mobilization was investigated in subcutaneous adipose tissue specimens obtained before and after a standardized mental-stress test in 14 non-obese healthy subjects. All participants responded with an increased heart rate and elevation of plasma glycerol levels. Plasma norepinephrine concentrations remained unchanged throughout the test. In six subjects, mental stress induced a significant increase in plasma epinephrine levels, to more than 0.26 nmol/L (responders), while the remaining eight individuals showed a response of less than 0.12 nmol/L (nonresponders). In the responders, a 30% increase in catecholamine-stimulated in vitro lipolysis was found after the mental-stress test, while the lipolytic response in isolated fat cells in vitro decreased slightly in the nonresponders after mental stress. A strong correlation (r = .84) was observed between the increased in vitro lipolytic responsiveness due to mental stress and circulating plasma epinephrine levels. In vitro data suggest that the augmentation in lipolytic activity induced by acute mental stress was caused by alterations between the beta-adrenoceptor and adenylate cyclase, ie, probably an increased coupling between beta-receptors and the stimulatory guanosine triphosphate [GTP]-binding protein (G2). This, in combination with elevated levels of circulating epinephrine, may explain the increased lipolysis during mental stress in some individuals (ie, responders). However, other parallel mechanisms for activation of lipolysis during mental stress must also exist in certain individuals (ie, nonresponders), and seem not to involve the adrenergic system.