Increased oxidative capacity in skeletal muscles from cold-acclimated ducklings: a comparison with rats
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Published on: February 3, 2017
H Barré1, L Bailly, J L Rouanet
1Laboratoire de Thermorégulation et Métabolisme Energétique (U.A. 181, C.N.R.S.), Faculté de Médecine Lyon-nord, France.
Abstract:
1. The effects of prolonged cold exposure on cytochrome oxidase activity were investigated in skeletal muscles, liver and adipose tissues from cold-acclimated (CA) and control (TN) ducklings and rats. 2. Cold acclimation increased the oxidative capacity of skeletal muscles (+33% in gastrocnemius and +195% in pectoral) and liver (+47%) from CA ducklings, but decreased the oxidative capacity of gastrocnemius muscle (-22%) from CA rats. On the other hand, in these CA rats it increased the oxidative capacity of liver by 88% and, above all, brown adipose tissue by 544%. 3. The significance of these changes due to acclimation to cold in ducklings and rats is discussed. Such an increase in oxidative capacity of CA duckling muscles may explain the non-shivering thermogenesis observed in these birds.
