Glucose metabolism and lipid mobilization by adipocytes from mice selected for growth

1. Experiments were conducted to compare the abilities of epididymal adipocytes from mice selected for growth (line G) and from unselected mice (line C) to: (a) incorporate glucose, (b) respond to insulin, and (c) mobilize lipids, and to relate these abilities to the food intake of the donors.2. During the 3-week pre-experimental period, line G mice gained body weight 78% faster and ate 35% more food than line C mice; both lines had similar intakes per unit of metabolic body size.3. Line G epididymal fat pads weighed 227% more than those of line C and contained adipocytes which were 38% larger; it was estimated that they contained approximately 65% more cells.4. The basal rate of glucose incorporated into lipids (per unit protein) was highest in line C adipocytes, whereas the basal rates of glucose oxidation to CO(2) and the total glucose incorporation (uptake) were similar for adipocytes from both lines.5. Insulin (1000 muu./ml.) caused adipocytes from both lines of mice to increase significantly the incorporation of glucose into CO(2) and lipids; the largest elevation occurred when the incubation medium contained 0.1 mg glucose/ml. At this concentration of glucose, the minimum effective dose (MED) of insulin to produce a significant increase in glucose oxidation was similar for both lines. However, the MED of insulin necessary to significantly increase glucose incorporation into lipids and into the sum of CO(2) and lipids was highest in the larger, line G adipocytes. Furthermore, the magnitude of the insulin-induced increase in glucose incorporation was much less for line G than for the line C adipocytes.6. Epinephrine significantly elevated the rates of NEFA and glycerol release and NEFA re-esterification. The highest rates of NEFA and glycerol release occurred in line C adipocytes, whereas the highest rate of NEFA re-esterification occurred in the line G adipocytes.7. Glucose had no effect on NEFA release but significantly elevated the rates of glycerol release (in most instances) and NEFA re-esterification.8. The larger number of adipocytes in line-G adipose tissue allows for more total incorporation of glucose and a greater overall release of glycerol by this tissue. Consequently, a greater reduction of glucose concentration and a larger elevation of glycerol concentration in the blood can occur; either of these could be the feed-back signal which resulted in the larger long-term food intake by the line G mice.