Enhanced receptor-cyclase coupling and augmented catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis in exercising rats

To test the hypothesis that alterations of adipocyte beta-adrenergic receptors provide a molecular mechanism for enhanced catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis in physically trained animals, we studied adipocytes derived from rats subjected to 14 wk of swimming and from sedentary controls. Peak glycerol release and peak adenylate cyclase activity in response to epinephrine were increased in swimmers to 255% (P less than 0.01) and 156% (P less than 0.01) of control values, respectively, but neither basal glycerol release, basal cyclase activity, NaF-stimulated cyclase activity, beta-receptor number, nor receptor affinity for [3H]dihydroalprenolol were altered. Epinephrine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity remained increased in adipocytes from swimmers in the presence of theophylline or adenosine. In the absence of exogenous guanine nucleotide, we observed no differences in the dissociation constants for either the high-affinity (KD = 0.025 microM) or the low-affinity (KL = 11 microM) classes of binding sites for (-)-epinephrine, but the proportion of high-affinity sites was greater in membrane preparations from swimmers than from controls (74 vs. 42%; P less than 0.01). We conclude that receptor-cyclase coupling is enhanced in adipocytes from exercising rats, perhaps due to an improved ability of adrenergic agonists to form the guanine nucleotide reversible high-affinity agonist-receptor complex.