Photoperiodic control of adipocyte alpha 2-adrenoceptors in Syrian hamsters: role of testosterone

Lipolytic and antilipolytic responses of the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus sungorus) white adipocytes after weight loss induced by short photoperiod exposure

Short day photoperiod promotes thermogenesis and extensive weight loss in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus sungorus). To determine whether a change in hormone-sensitive lipolysis occurs after short-photoperiod exposure, some lipolytic responses were measured on white adipocytes isolated from animals exposed in warm conditions to short or Long daylight photoperiod. The body mass of male Siberian hamsters exposed during 11 weeks to short days (SD; light: dark, 6:18 hr) reached only 50% of those kept in long days (LD; 16: 8 hr). In SD-hamsters, adipose depot mass also represented approximately 50% of the LD group. A lower DNA content was observed in intra-abdominal fat pads of SD-hamsters. Lipolytic responses to noradrenaline, adrenaline, isoproterenol and ACTH were unchanged. However, sensitivity to the beta-3 adrenergic agonist, BRL 37344, was moderately increased. The major component of the adrenergic control of lipolysis was mediated by beta-3 adrenoceptors in both LD- and SD-Siberian hamsters. The limited antilipolytic effect of alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, PYY or insulin was rather surprising in Siberian hamsters since these inhibitory systems are efficient in hibernants and other photoperiod-sensitive rodents. Our results show that, after short photoperiod exposure, white adipose tissue mass and DNA content are reduced, especially in the epididymal fat pad, with only minor changes in the adipocyte sensitivity to lipolytic hormones.

Photoperiod, sex, gonadal steroids, and housing density affect body fat in hamsters

Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus sungorus) show seasonal cycles in body mass with the peak mass occurring in the summer and the nadir in the winter. These naturally occurring changes in body mass are triggered by changes in the photoperiod and are mimicked in the laboratory by transferring male or female hamsters from long "summer-like" days (LDs) to short "winter-like" days (SDs). During the initial exposure to SDs (1-6 weeks), the decreases in body fat are not uniform and are associated with the relative preferential depletion of internally located intraperitoneal white adipose tissue (WAT) pads compared with the more externally located subcutaneous WAT pads. This pattern of lipid depletion only occurs in males. The purpose of the present experiments was to explore further the SD-induced gender- and fat pad-specific relative decreases in fat pad mass by answering the following questions: 1) What are the underlying alterations in adipose tissue cellularity associated with the SD-induced changes in fat pad mass? 2) Does housing density affect these decreases in fat pad mass? and 3) Can these changes in WAT mass be altered by gonadal steroid manipulation? In Experiment 1, adult male and female gonadally intact Siberian hamsters were housed singly or 10 hamsters per cage. In Experiment 2, adult male and female hamsters were left gonadally intact or gonadectomized. Castrated males received a cholesterol control (CHOL), testosterone (T), or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) implant, whereas ovariectomized females received CHOL or estradiol implant. Six weeks after surgery and implantation, half the animals in each group in both experiments were transferred to SDs for an additional 6 weeks, whereas the others remained in LDs. It was found that: 1) the SD-induced decrease in fat pad mass was reflected primarily as decreased fat cell size, 2) the relative pattern of SD-induced lipid depletion only was seen in single-housed males, 3) T or estradiol treatment reversed the effects of gonadectomy in both photoperiods, 4) despite the restoration of LD serum concentrations for both hormones, T only reversed the SD-induced decrease in body mass and food intake, whereas estradiol only reversed the SD-induced decrease in RWAT pad mass, and 5) DHT treatment exaggerated the SD-induced decreases in body mass and food intake. Collectively, these results showed that: a) short photoperiod-mediated changes in fat pad mass are due to fluctuations only in fat cell size, b) housing density affected the relative pattern of SD-induced lipid depletion in males, whereas most other photosensitive responses did not differ between single- and group-housed hamsters, and c) many of the SD-induced responses were gonadal steroid independent.

Fat mobilisation in short days is not associated with altered noradrenergic sensitivity of adipocytes in Djungarian hamsters

One of the primary physiological responses of the Djungarian hamster to short photoperiods is a reduction in body weight with fat mobilisation. The depletion of fat to a minimum level may be regulated either in the periphery, through the sensitivity of adipocytes to hormonal stimulation, or centrally, via adjustments in efferent activity. To investigate this, we examined the lipolytic pathway in fat cells from animals at various stages of entrainment to long or short photoperiod. Short photoperiod exposure of up to a 10-week duration was without effect on basal glycerol release by unstimulated cells or on the ability of norepinephrine or an adenosine analogue to stimulate or inhibit lipolysis, respectively. Prolonged exposure to short photoperiod reduced basal glycerol release, but adipocytes retained their sensitivity to hormonal stimulation. Short photoperiod had no effect on the density or affinity of membrane-bound beta-adrenergic or adenosine receptors, or upon the ability of isoproterenol or forskolin to stimulate adenylate cyclase in adipocyte membranes. This suggests that the regulation of fat depletion in short photoperiod is determined centrally and does not involve alterations in adipocyte sensitivity and, in particular, the desensitisation of the adipocyte beta-adrenergic receptor-linked adenylate cyclase pathway.

Coupling of inhibitory receptors with Gi-proteins in hamster adipocytes: comparison between adenosine A1 receptor and alpha 2-adrenoceptor

Adenosine A1 receptors and alpha 2-adrenoceptors are both potent inhibitors of adipocyte lipolysis when activated by their agonists. The aim of this work was to compare the coupling of these receptors to the Gi-proteins in hamster adipocytes. The adenosine A1 receptor was characterized with the antagonist [3H]dipropyl-cyclopentyl-xanthine ([3H]DPCPX) and the agonist [3H](-)-phenylisopropyladenosine ([3H]PIA). It was demonstrated by [32P]ADP-ribosylation with pertussis toxin and immunoblotting that Gi1, Gi2 and Gi3 are expressed in hamster adipocytes. Partial ADP-ribosylation of Gi-proteins by pertussis toxin, acting on the intact cells or on the adipocyte membranes, demonstrated that the adenosine A1 receptor was less sensitive to the disappearance of functional Gi-proteins than the alpha 2-adrenoceptor. These results are in accordance with the weak sensitivity of the binding of the agonist [3H]PIA to guanine nucleotides and seem to confirm that the adenosine A1 receptor is strongly and differently coupled than the alpha 2-adrenoceptor to the Gi-proteins in hamster adipocyte membranes.

Identification of alpha 2-adrenoceptors and of non-adrenergic idazoxan binding sites in pancreatic islets from young and adult hamsters

1. The current study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of alpha 2-adrenoceptors and to search for the presence of NAIBS in hamster pancreatic islets. 2. Pancreatic islets were isolated from young (6-7 weeks) and adult (14-15 weeks) animals. 3. The identification of alpha 2-adrenoceptors using [3H]RX821002 indicated that adults exhibited higher number of alpha 2-adrenoceptors than the young animals (194 +/- 20 vs 105 +/- 16 fmol/mg protein) while the Kd value was unchanged. 4. Glucose-evoked insulin release was completely inhibited by the alpha 2-agonist clonidine (0.1 microM) whatever the age of the animals. Agonist inhibition curves showed the following rank order of potency: clonidine > UK14304 > adrenaline. 5. Blockade of UK14304-elicited inhibition by various antagonists indicated that yohimbine has a low affinity for the receptor supporting the conclusion that the receptor is of the alpha 2-D subtype. 6. Binding experiments with [3H]idazoxan under conditions allowing to discriminate between alpha 2-adrenoceptors and NAIBS showed that hamster pancreatic islets express a high number of NAIBS. The density of NAIBS was similar in young and adult hamsters (1550 +/- 245 and 1342 +/- 332 fmol/mg protein).

Effect of a 7-day treatment with idazoxan and its 2-methoxy derivative RX 821002 [correction of RX 821001] on alpha 2-adrenoceptors and non-adrenoceptor idazoxan binding sites in rabbits

1. The present study investigates the influence of a 7-day treatment with 2 mg kg-1, s.c., twice daily of RX 821002 (an alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist which binds only to alpha 2-adrenoceptors) or idazoxan (alpha 2-antagonist which binds to alpha 2-adrenoceptors and also to non-adrenoceptor idazoxan binding sites: NAIBS) on alpha 2-adrenoceptor (labelled with [3H]-RX 821002) and NAIBS (labelled with [3H]-idazoxan) number in three tissues (adipocytes, colocytes and platelets) in the rabbit. 2. Acute administration of RX 821002 or idazoxan increased plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and catecholamine levels with no change in plasma glucose levels. 3. The 7-day treatment with RX 821002 or idazoxan failed to influence food intake, total body weight or perirenal adipose tissue weight. 4. RX 821002 and idazoxan increased the number of [3H]-RX 821002 binding sites in adipose tissue with no change in colocytes or platelets. 5. RX 821002 and idazoxan failed to modify [3H]-idazoxan binding sites on adipocytes and colocytes. No significant [3H]-idazoxan binding was detected on rabbit platelets. 6. The results show that a 7-day treatment with alpha 2-antagonists induces an up-regulation in adipocyte alpha 2-adrenoceptors. In contrast, this phenomenon does not involve all the tissues since colocytes and platelets escape the effects of alpha 2-antagonists. The data suggest a differential regulation of alpha 2-adrenoceptors according to their location. 7. The fact that NAIBS did not vary suggests that alpha 2-adrenoceptors and NAIBS are two different entities. Finally, since RX 821002 and idazoxan exert similar effects after either acute or chronic treatment, it is suggested that NAIBS are not involved in the control of catecholamine release or in NEFA or glucose metabolism.