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The effect of prolonged fasting on sympathetic activity was examined in rat white adipose tissue (WAT) and, for comparison purposes, in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT). Preliminary experiments showed that 6-hydroxydopamine or tyramine administration to fed animals produced similar reductions in norepinephrine (NE) content of WAT and IBAT. Fasting for 48 h did not affect tissue NE content significantly, but induced a threefold increase in [3H]NE uptake by retroperitoneal and epididymal adipose tissue, contrasting with a 50% reduction in IBAT. Measured with DL-alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, NE fractional rates of turnover were faster and calculated turnover rates were three times higher in retroperitoneal and epididymal tissue from fasted rats than in tissues from fed controls. In experiments with [3H]NE, although fractional rates did not change significantly, calculated NE turnover also increased in retroperitoneal and epididymal tissue after food deprivation. In contrast, in IBAT, NE turnover either did not change (measured with DL-alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine) or, in the experiments with [3H]NE, decreased significantly after fasting. These and other data suggest that a centrally controlled selective activation of WAT sympathetic fibers contributes to fasting lipolysis.

Protein restriction led to an increase in EE, with probable activation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, evidenced by an increase in catecholamines levels. Despite the higher EE, energetic gain and lipids increased. The high level of leptin associated with hyperphagia led to the supposition that these animals are leptin resistant, and the increase in insulin sensitivity, suggested by the relation between insulin and glycemia in fasting and fed animals, might contribute to lipid accumulation.

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