Fasting-induced selective mobilization of brown adipose tissue fatty acids

This study was conducted to determine whether there is selective mobilization of fatty acids from brown adipose tissue. Rats were fed a fish-oil diet and then fasted for 0, 7, or 10 days followed by analysis of the fatty acid content and composition of triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipid (PL) in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT). Fatty acids were selectively lost from IBAT triacylglycerols, the mobilization following the same structural rules as those previously demonstrated for white adipose tissue. Fractional mobilization increased with unsaturation at a given chain length and tended to decrease with chain length at a given unsaturation. However, linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) was mobilized significantly less than predicted by these structural rules. In IBAT phospholipid, fatty acids were also selectively lost but there was no such relationship between the fractional mobilization of a fatty acid and its structure. The fatty acids of the n-6 series were exceptional in their behavior because they displayed below average fractional mobilization. In fact, linoleic and arachidonic acids actually increased their mass in IBAT phospholipid during the fast. It is concluded that, in IBAT, fatty acids are selectively mobilized during a fast, and that fasting-induced remodeling of the fatty acid composition leads to the selective retention of linoleate in the case of TAG and all the n-6 fatty acids in the case of PL.