Adipocyte blood flow is decreased in obese Zucker rats

Blood flow to five adipose tissue depots and five other organs was measured in unanesthetized free-moving obese and lean male Zucker rats using the radiolabeled microsphere technique. Cardiac output and blood pressure were also measured. Obese rats were significantly heavier and had larger fat depots characterized by more and larger adipocytes. Cardiac output and blood pressure were similar in lean and obese rats. Blood flow to adipose tissue was substantially reduced in all five depots of obese rats when expressed per square millimeter of cell surface. When blood flow was expressed per cell, it was reduced in obese rats in the dorsal subcutaneous and inguinal depots and significantly elevated in the obese mesenteric adipose depot. Significant interdepot differences in blood flow were observed in both lean and obese rats. Nonadipose organ blood flow was not different between obese and lean rats, but when expressed on a per gram basis, blood flow through triceps surae muscle, epididymis, and testis was elevated in obese rats. These findings suggest that there is a substantial alteration of hemodynamics in obesity that may contribute to or reflect the altered metabolism of adipose tissue in obese rats. Furthermore, interdepot differences of adipose tissue blood flow also parallel reported interdepot differences in metabolism.