Suppression of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue by fasting

Fasting-induced changes in thermogenic responses to norepinephrine (NE, 4.0 micrograms X kg-1 X min-1 iv) were studied in anesthetized rats previously cold acclimated. The rats were divided into five groups at the end of 30-40 days of cold acclimation (5 degrees C). The five groups were kept for 5 days at 25 degrees C and fed (intact fed), fasted (intact fasted), fasted with daily treatment with thyroxine (T4, 2 micrograms/kg sc), thyroidectomized and fed, or thyroidectomized and fasted. In the intact fasted group, in which the weight of brown adipose tissue decreased, NE-induced increases in oxygen consumption, colonic temperature (T col), and temperature of the interscapular brown adipose tissue (TBAT) were markedly suppressed. The two thyroidectomized groups also showed a reduction in thermogenic response. In these three groups, TBAT was lower than Tcol throughout NE infusion. In the T4-treated fasted group, fasting-induced suppression of thermogenic response to NE was largely prevented. In the intact fed and the T4-treated fasted groups, TBAT attained higher values than Tcol during NE infusion. Plasma levels of thyroid hormones were significantly lower in the intact fasted group than in the intact fed or the T4-treated fasted group. These results suggest that fasting-induced suppression of the thermogenic response to NE is largely due to the reduced thermogenic response of brown adipose tissue to NE. The lowering of the levels of the thyroid hormones induced by fasting may be one of a number of causes of the reduction in the thermogenic response of brown adipose tissue.