Adipose reduction by beta,beta'-tetramethyl-substituted hexadecanedioic acid (MEDICA 16)

Treatment of normal rats kept on a balanced laboratory chow diet with beta,beta'-tetramethyl-substituted hexadecanedioic acid (MEDICA 16) (Bar-Tana et al., 1985, J. Biol. Chem, 260, 8404-8410) resulted in an acute reduction in adiposity, which was already established during the first week of treatment and was sustained as long as the drug was administered. Adipose reduction consisted of 30-80 percent decrease in the perirenal, omental, epididymal, parametrial and subcutaneous fat with a concomitant 50 percent decrease in total body neutral lipid mass. The reduction in adiposity was accounted for by a respective decrease in the lipid content of individual adipocytes together with a transient or sustained decrease in the number of adipocytes of selected adipose tissues. The decrease in the lipid content resulted from (a) an extensive hypotriglyceridemia in MEDICA 16-treated rats; (b) inhibition of adipose lipogenesis by MEDICA 16; (c) increased sensitivity to catecholamines-. ACTH- and forskolin-induced lipolysis in MEDICA 16 adipocytes. Adipose reduction by MEDICA 16 was not compromised by a decrease in overall net caloric intake but was accompanied by a 40 percent increase in resting metabolic rate.