Effects of beta-adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on thermoregulation in the cold in lean and obese Zucker rats

Association between obesity and reduced body temperature in dogs

BACKGROUND

Industrialized nations are currently experiencing an obesity epidemic, the causes of which are not fully known. One possible mechanism of enhanced energy efficiency that has received almost no attention is a reduction in the metabolic cost of homeothermy, which could be achieved by a modest lowering of body core temperature. We evaluated the potential of this obesity-inducing mechanism in a canine model of the metabolic syndrome.

METHODS

We compared the rectal temperature of lean dogs and obese dogs by (a) conducting cross-sectional measurements in 287 dogs of many breeds varying greatly in body size, (b) conducting longitudinal measurements in individual dogs over 7-10 years and (c) tracking rectal temperature of lean and obese dogs at 3-h intervals for 48 consecutive hours in the laboratory.

RESULTS

We found that larger dogs have lower rectal temperatures than smaller dogs and that, for the same body mass, obese dogs have lower rectal temperatures than lean dogs. The results were consistent in the cross-sectional, longitudinal and around-the-clock measurements.

CONCLUSION

These findings document an association between obesity and reduced body temperature in dogs and support the hypothesis that obesity in this and other species of homeotherms may result from an increase in metabolic efficiency achieved by a regulated lowering of body temperature.

Leptin and thyrotropin-releasing hormone: cooperative action in the hindbrain to activate brown adipose thermogenesis

Explanations of leptin induction of thermogenesis typically involve primary detection elements in the hypothalamus. In turn, these circuits control medullary raphe neurons that regulate spinal efferent sympathetic projections to heat-producing brown adipose tissue (BAT). The hindbrain may be capable of considerable thermoregulatory capacity independent of the hypothalamus, though little is known about the site(s), mechanism(s) of action, or the physiological consequences of leptin action in the hindbrain. Several reports describe the presence of leptin receptor in the solitary nucleus, and there is functional evidence that leptin can act in the dorsal medulla to suppress feeding. We examined the effects of leptin, applied to the dorsal medulla, on BAT thermogenesis. Leptin alone (< or =25 microg) had no independent effect on BAT thermogenesis. We hypothesized that, while leptin may not be capable of activating thermocontrol mechanisms in the hindbrain directly, it may modulate the efficacy of other neural signals involved in the control of thermogenesis such as thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). We tested the hypothesis that leptin and TRH, acting in the hindbrain, co-regulate thermogenesis. As expected, TRH (0.1 microg), alone, produces a small increase (+0.75 degrees C) in BAT temperature. Co-application of leptin (5 mug) and TRH (0.1 microg) to the dorsal medulla produces an increase in BAT and core temperature more than 300% greater than TRH alone (+3.5 degrees C). This effect is undiminished in the acute decerebrate rat, suggesting that the effect is mediated entirely by the hindbrain.

Role of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y neurons in the defective thermogenic response to acute cold exposure in fatty Zucker rats

The fatty Zucker rat has impaired heat production and fails to mount an adequate thermogenic response to cold exposure, partly because of decreased sympathetic drive to thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. Neuropeptide Y, synthesized in neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and released in the paraventricular nucleus, stimulates feeding and inhibits brown adipose tissue activity. The neuropeptide Y neurons are overactive in fatty Zucker rats and are thought to contribute to hyperphagia, reduced energy expenditure and obesity. We have examined the relationship between thermogenic activity in brown adipose tissue (measured as uncoupling protein messenger RNA levels) and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y and neuropeptide Y messenger RNA levels in response to cold exposure (4 degrees C) for 2.5 and 18 h, in fatty and lean Zucker rats. In lean Zucker rats, cold exposure at 4 degrees C for 2.5 and 18 h significantly increased uncoupling protein messenger RNA levels by 3.5-fold (P<0.01) and 3.3-fold (P<0.01), respectively, compared with warm-maintained controls. Exposure to cold for 18 h also increased neuropeptide Y concentrations in the paraventricular nucleus (P<0.01) and ventromedial nucleus (P<0.001) in lean rats, with no change in neuropeptide Y messenger RNA after either 2.5 or 18 h. By contrast, fatty Zucker rats showed no significant changes in uncoupling protein messenger RNA (P>0.05) at either duration of cold exposure. There were also no significant changes in neuropeptide Y levels in any region nor in neuropeptide Y messenger RNA, with cold exposure for either period (P>0.05). In lean rats, cold exposure therefore stimulates brown fat uncoupling protein messenger RNA and also increases neuropeptide Y concentrations in its hypothalamic sites of release. We suggest that increased brown fat thermogenic capacity induced by cold in lean rats may be mediated, at least in part, by decreased neuropeptide Y release in the paraventricular nucleus, resulting in its accumulation in this site. Defective thermogenic responses in fatty rats may result from central dysregulation of brown adipose tissue due to sustained and non-suppressible overactivity of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y neurons.

Temperature-dependent effects of alpha-adrenergic agonists and antagonists in the cold

This series of experiments examined whether temperature-dependent effects of the alpha-antagonists prazosin and yohimbine compromised their use as blockers of alpha-adrenergic agonist responses in cold-exposed rats. An operant leverpressing task was used to measure the demand for heat in a cold environment. The alpha 1-antagonist prazosin had modest effects, but the alpha 2-antagonist yohimbine was thermolytic in that it dose dependently increased operant responding but decreased posttest colonic temperature (Tc). These potent effects of the alpha 2-antagonist led to tests of the alpha 2-agonist clonidine. Clonidine increased operant responding for heat to an extraordinary degree, resulting in significant increases in posttest Tc. However, clonidine was found to be a hypothermic agent when tested in rats at 5 degrees C but denied the opportunity to increase body temperature by operant lever pressing, suggesting a central effect on the control of thermal balance. Measurement of changes in metabolic rate at 5 and 23 degrees C showed that yohimbine increased metabolism at 23 degrees C but decreased it in the cold. Prazosin had little effect on metabolism or Tc at either temperature. Prazosin inhibited the decrease in Tc induced by norepinephrine (NE), but had little effect on the lever-pressing response. Yohimbine had no significant antagonistic effect on NE-induced changes in lever-pressing behavior or posttest Tc, but neither did the thermolytic effects of yohimbine exacerbate those of NE. These results show that alpha-antagonist interactions with agonists can be complicated by temperature-dependent effects of each.

Effects of epinephrine on thermoregulatory behavior in lean and obese Zucker rats in the cold

This series of experiments examined whether epinephrine (EPI) produces the same thermoregulatory effects in the cold that have been reported for norepinephrine and isoproterenol. Lean and obese Zucker rats were trained to press a lever to activate infrared heat lamps in a cold (-8 degrees C) environment. Operant thermoregulatory behavior increased dose-dependently following EPI (0-100 micrograms/kg), but posttest colonic temperature (Tc) fell. Thermal balance calculations showed a substantial increase in net heat loss, more so in obese than lean animals. EPI is therefore thermolytic--i.e., disrupts thermal balance. A low dose (100 micrograms/kg) of the alpha-antagonist phentolamine produced a marked improvement in operant behavior, Tc, and thermal balance, whereas a comparable dose of the beta-antagonist propranolol had no beneficial effect. Increasing the dose of phentolamine worsened the responses with respect to the 100-micrograms/kg dose. The selective alpha 1-antagonist prazosin ameliorated the decrease in Tc induced by EPI but had little effect on operant behavior or thermal balance; the selective alpha 2-antagonist yohimbine had no effect on any parameter compared to EPI alone. These results suggest that the paradoxical effects of EPI in the cold are mediated by alpha-adrenoceptors, but definitive identification of the subclass of receptor involved cannot be determined.