Multiple symmetric lipomatosis (Launois-Bensaude syndrome) - adipose tissue insensitivity to cyclic AMP

Adipocytes prepared from lipomatous tissue of a patient with multiple symmetric lipomatosis have been incubated in the presence of norepinephrine, or insulin, or both. No lipolytic response to norepinephrine could be detected. However, the cellular content of cyclic AMP doubled in response to norepinephrine. Insulin reversed this. The data suggest that fat mobilization from the lipoma is impaired, and that this is due to resistance to the effect of cyclic AMP on hormone sensitive lipase.