Refeeding and insulin increase lipoprotein lipase activity in rat brown adipose tissue

Induction of lipoprotein lipase activity in brown adipose tissue (BAT) in response to cold stress has earlier been shown to be regulated by a beta-adrenergic mechanism and to be dependent on mRNA synthesis. In the present study, we have investigated the acute effects of refeeding after a short starvation period and the hormonal mechanism underlying the observed effects. Refeeding was found to rapidly increase tissue wet weight and lipoprotein lipase activity. The increase in enzyme activity could be blocked by the RNA synthesis inhibitor actinomycin D, indicating a gene activation. beta-Adrenergic blockade had no effect on this elevation of enzyme activity, but the increase could be mimicked by insulin injection. The results suggest that BAT contains two different pathways for regulation of lipoprotein lipase activity, both involving mRNA synthesis.