Non-shivering thermogenesis and obesity in adult diabetic Wistar fatty rats

1. Characteristics of resting and of norepinephrine (NE)-stimulated thermogenesis, and the glycemic response to NE were determined in adult male Wistar Fatty rats. Rats were maintained on Purina chow No. 5001 until 22 weeks of age, and fed semisynthetic diets containing 54% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 16% mixed fats, plus essential vitamins, minerals, and non-nutritive fiber from 22 until 30 weeks of age. 2. Obese rats were 50% heavier than lean throughout the study. Phenotype effects (obese greater than lean) were present for retroperitoneal (RP) and dorsal (DOR) white fat depot weight, adipocyte number per depot, and adipocyte lipid content. Epididymal mass and cellularity were similar in both phenotypes. 3. Interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) mass, adipocyte size, and adipocyte number were greater in obese than in lean. Resting metabolic rates (RMR) of obese rats were lower than in lean, and increased 79% in lean but only 33% in obese animals following NE (200 micrograms/kg BW, s.c.) stimulation. 4. The glycemic response to NE occurred normally in both phenotypes, and resulted in a 3-fold increment in plasma glucose in lean rats and a 5-6-fold increase in plasma glucose in obese rats. 5. The results of this study are consistent with hyperplasia and hypertrophy of IBAT, RP and DOR depots, and indicate that the capacity for non-shivering thermogenesis is impaired in the obese phenotype of this strain in spite of peripheral sensitivity to NE and greater mass and cellularity of brown adipose tissue.