Effects of early pregnancy on regional adipose tissue metabolism

Adipose tissue metabolism was studied in needle biopsies from femoral and abdominal subcutaneous depots, in 12 healthy young women, during early (9-11 weeks) pregnancy, and 6 weeks after a legal abortion. Both during pregnant and non-pregnant conditions, a higher lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was seen in the femoral compared to the abdominal region, but the LPL activity was not influenced by early pregnancy. Rates of fatty acid esterification and acylglyceride synthesis were not different between regions, nor affected by pregnancy. The stimulatory effect of norepinephrine (10(-7) M) on lipolysis was significantly greater in the abdominal than in the femoral region in both the pregnant and non-pregnant condition. This difference was apparently due to higher alpha-adrenergic activity in the femoral region. Pregnancy per se had no effect on lipolytic response to norepinephrine. These findings indicate that lipid accumulation is favoured in the femoral region in young women both during pregnant and non-pregnant conditions.