Reduced norepinephrine turnover in organs and brains of obesity-prone rats

One-half of the adult male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a diet relatively high in fat, sucrose, and energy content (HE diet) develop diet-induced obesity (DIO). The rest are diet resistant (DR). The role of peripheral and central norepinephrine (NE) activity in predisposing them to these weight gain patterns was assessed before HE diet exposure. Chow-fed male 3-mo-old Sprague-Dawley rats were separated as being prone to become DIO or DR by their high (3.06 +/- 0.14 micrograms) vs. low (1.17 +/- 0.10 micrograms; P = 0.001) 24-h urine NE output, respectively. Turnover of NE, an index of sympathetic activity, was assessed by synthesis inhibition with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. DIO-prone rats had significant 53 and 18% reductions in heart and pancreas NE turnover, with interscapular brown adipose tissue turnover comparable to that of DR-prone rats. Hypothalamic NE turnover was significantly decreased by 85 and 60% in the ventromedial nucleus and lateral area vs. DR-prone rats. Although present in DR-prone rats, no turnover was found in the dorsomedial nucleus of DIO-prone rats. Endogenous NE was reduced by 28% in the paraventricular nucleus, whereas arcuate/median eminence turnover was increased by 100% in DIO-prone rats. Amygdalar NE turnover was similar between phenotypes. These intrinsic differences in NE metabolism may play an important role in the development of DIO on HE diets.