The effects of cold exposure on the net rates of 2-[3H]deoxy-D-glucose uptake (Ki) in rat peripheral tissues were investigated comparatively in warm- and cold-acclimated animals to determine whether cold acclimation induces regulatory alterations in glucose metabolism. Acute exposure of warm-acclimated (25 degrees C) rats to cold (48 h at 5 degrees C) markedly increased the Ki values in red and white skeletal muscles (2-5 times), in the heart (8 times), in several white adipose tissue (WAT) depots (4-20 times), and in brown adipose tissue (BAT) (110 times). After cold acclimation (3 wk at 5 degrees C), the Ki values further increased in the heart (15 times) and WAT (up to 29 times) but decreased in BAT (36 times). Remarkably, glucose uptake was still increased in muscles of cold-exposed/cold-acclimated animals (that do not shiver), demonstrating that enhanced glucose uptake may occur in muscles in the absence of shivering thermogenesis (or contractile activity). When cold-acclimated rats were returned to the warm for 18 h, the Ki values of all tissues, except WAT, returned to control levels. Cold exposure synergistically potentiated the stimulation of tissue glucose uptake induced by a maximal effective dose of insulin (0.5 U/kg iv) in warm- as well as in cold-acclimated animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system, increases energy expenditure, improves glucose tolerance, enhances insulin sensitivity, and stimulates glucose uptake in peripheral tissues [brown and white adipose tissues (BAT and WAT) and muscles] of normal rats. The goal of the present studies was to test whether the selective β3-adrenergic agonist CL-316243 (CL) would mimic the beneficial effects of cold exposure in lean and obese ZDF/Gmi- fa male (ZDF) rats, a new model of type II diabetes. In obese ZDF rats, chronic infusion of CL (1 mg ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ day−1for 14 days) significantly decreased body weight gain, food intake, and WAT weight. It also increased total tissue cytochrome oxidase activity, not only in BAT (15 times), but also in WAT (2–4 times), suggesting that it progressively enhanced mitochondriogenesis in adipose tissues. CL treatment normalized hyperglycemia and reduced hyperinsulinemia and circulating free fatty acid (FFA) levels. It also improved glucose tolerance and reduced insulin response during an intravenous glucose tolerance test. In general, the beneficial effects of CL were more pronounced in obese than in lean rats. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic glucose clamps combined with the [2-3H]deoxyglucose method revealed that CL markedly improved insulin responsiveness in obese rats (3–4 times) and increased glucose uptake in BAT (21 times), WAT (3 times), skeletal muscles (2–3 times), and in the diaphragm (2.8 times), but not in the heart. It is concluded that chronic CL treatment improves glucose tolerance and insulin responsiveness in obese ZDF rats by a mechanism similar to that induced by chronic cold exposure, i.e., by stimulating facultative thermogenesis, mitochondriogenesis, and glucose utilization in BAT and WAT. In addition to this mechanism, the reduction in plasma FFA levels induced by chronic CL treatment may further contribute to enhance glucose uptake in skeletal muscles (a tissue that does not express typical β3-adrenoceptors) via the “glucose-fatty acid” cycle. The antiobesity and antidiabetic properties of CL suggest that selective β3-adrenergic agonists may represent useful agents for the treatment of type II diabetes.

The effects of cold exposure (48 h at 4 degrees C) and insulin injection (0.5 U/kg iv) on the rates of net 2-[3H]deoxyglucose uptake (Ki) in peripheral tissues were investigated in warm-acclimated rats (25 degrees C). Cold exposure and insulin treatment independently increased Ki values in skeletal muscles (soleus, extensor digitorum longus, and vastus lateralis), heart, white adipose tissue (subcutaneous, gonadal, and retroperitoneal), and brown adipose tissue (P less than 0.01). The effects of cold exposure were particularly evident in brown adipose tissue where the Ki increased greater than 100 times. When the two treatments were combined (insulin injection in cold-exposed rats), it was found that cold exposure synergistically enhanced the maximal insulin responses for glucose uptake in brown adipose tissue, all white adipose tissue depots, and skeletal muscles investigated. The results indicate that cold exposure induces an "insulin-like" effect on Ki that does not appear to be specifically associated with shivering thermogenesis in skeletal muscles, because that effect was observed in all insulin-sensitive tissues. The data also demonstrate that cold exposure significantly potentiates the maximal insulin responses for glucose uptake in the same tissues. This potentialization may result from an enhanced responsiveness of peripheral tissues to insulin, possibly occurring at metabolic steps lying beyond the insulin receptor and an increased tissue blood flow augmenting glucose and insulin availability and thereby amplifying glucose uptake.

The effects of fasting and cold exposure on glucose uptake in skeletal muscles (tibialis anterior, quadriceps, and soleus), heart, and brown adipose tissue (BAT) were studied in conscious rats. Glucose uptake was estimated by determining the glucose metabolic index of individual tissues using the 2-[3H]deoxyglucose method. Fasting for 18 h at 25 degrees C decreased plasma glucose levels (-40%) and glucose uptake in heart (-95%) and skeletal muscles (-64-90%) but did not significantly affect glucose uptake in BAT. Fasting for 48 h did not further decrease these parameters. On the other hand, cold exposure (48 h at 5 degrees C) of fed animals did not alter plasma glucose levels but increased glucose uptake in heart (73%), skeletal muscles (126-326%), and particularly in BAT (95-fold). Remarkably, cold exposure stimulated glucose uptake in BAT and skeletal muscles of 18-h fasted rats by the same order of magnitude as in fed animals (percentagewise), thereby indicating that glucose represents an essential metabolite for shivering (muscles) and nonshivering (BAT) thermogeneses. In the heart of starved animals, the cold-induced increase in glucose uptake was even more important (8-fold) than in fed animals. Considering that cold exposure of fasted rats results in a severe insulinopenia, it is suggested that cold exposure stimulates glucose uptake in peripheral tissues primarily by enhancing glucose oxidation via insulin-independent pathways.

Cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system and markedly stimulates glucose uptake in rat peripheral tissues [A. L. Vallerand, F. Pérusse, and L. J. Bukowiecki. Am. J. Physiol 259 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 28): R1043-R1049, 1990]. To test whether norepinephrine (NE) mimics the effects of cold exposure, we estimated the effects of chronic NE treatment on tissue glucose uptake by determining the glucose metabolic index using the 2-[1,2-3H(N)]deoxy-D-glucose method. NE was administered in conscious rats at various doses (ranging from 1.9 to 25.1 nmol.kg-1.min-1) during 4 days via minipumps implanted subcutaneously. At doses > 10 nmol.kg-1.min-1, NE maximally stimulated glucose uptake in interscapular brown adipose tissue (approximately 50 times above controls) and epididymal white adipose tissue (approximately 3 times above controls). NE infusion (18.8 nmol.kg-1.min-1) increased the circulating levels of NE from 1.1 +/- 0.1 to 19.2 +/- 0.4 nM (P < 0.001), which is in the range of concentrations for the stimulatory effects of NE on glucose uptake in isolated brown adipocytes. At all concentrations tested, NE infusion did not stimulate glucose uptake in the heart and skeletal muscles. NE treatment did not significantly alter plasma insulin or glucose levels but increased the concentration of circulating free fatty acids. The capacity of brown adipose tissue for NE stimulation of glucose uptake (expressed per g of tissue) was much higher than that of white adipose tissue (100 times), various types of white or red skeletal muscles (10-80 times), or the heart (3-4 times).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)