Adipocyte dynamics in hypothalamic obese mice during food deprivation and refeeding

Effect of hypothalamic lesions on regulation of body weight and fat cell dynamics in obese mice were examined during refeeding after prolonged food deprivation. Obese mice, which were treated with monosodium glutamate for 5 postnatal days and had ventromedial nuclear lesions in the hypothalamus, were used. When adult obese mice were given a glucose electrolyte solution for 20-40 days, the body weight dropped to about 45% of their pre-treatment weight. After reinstituted feeding of normal mouse food ad libitum, their body weight and adipose tissue weight returned to pre-starvation level. Tritiated thymidine autoradiography revealed that cell proliferation occurred in the early stages of refeeding and some fat cells were renewed in the epididymal adipose tissue. Fat cell renewal was found more active in the experimental group than in the control. Thereafter, fat cell size increased gradually via fat storage. These obese mice were found to have the capacity to regulate their body weight and adipose tissue not only through fat storage but also by increasing number of fat cells, in order to replace the cells which were lost during starvation. Therefore, ventromedial nuclear lesion in the hypothalamus does not influence the regulatory mechanism of adipose tissue during starvation and refeeding.