Energy balance following sympathetic denervation of brown adipose tissue

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Abstract
The effects of sham, bilateral surgical denervation or excision of intercapular brown adipose tissue on body composition and energetic efficiency were studied in young CFLP mice kept at 25.degree. C and fed a laboratory stock diet. Fifteen wk following surgery, total body fat was increased by 42% in the denervated group and by 72% in the excised group while body protein was unchanged. In another 7-wk energy balance experiment, body fat was also significantly higher by 15 and 18% in the denervated and excised group, respectively, but metabolizable energy intake was slightly lower than that of sham controls. Determination of energy expenditure both by the comparative carcass slaughter technique and by measurement of daily O2 consumption showed that the metabolic rate was reduced in the denervated and excised groups. The capacity for thermogenesis, as measured by an increase in O2 consumption following injections of noradrenaline [norepinephrine] (60 .mu.g/kg body wt) was similar in all groups. Denervation or excision of interscapular brown adipose tissue evidently causes an elevation in energetic efficiency, and an important role of the sympathetic nervous system in the regulation of animal heat production by brown adipose tissue and in the overall control of thermogenesis is indicated.