Guanethidine sympathectomy does not prevent meal-induced increases in the weight or oxygen consumption of brown fat

Chemical sympathectomy alters food intake and thermogenic responses to catecholamines in rats

It has been suggested that the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the short-term control of feeding. The adrenergic innervation of some splanchnic organs seems to be especially involved in such processes, since catecholamines reduce feeding only when injected intraperitoneally or intraportally. In this work, the effects of neonatal sympathetic denervation with guanethidine (Gnt) upon food intake were assessed in adult rats. Gnt-treated male rats had lower body weight gain. The hypophagic response to intraperitoneal (ip) norepinephrine was 70% higher in Gnt-treated animals as compared to controls (P < 0.05); that of epinephrine (E) by 33% (P < 0.05) and that of isoproterenol was not significantly modified. As in normal rats, the hypophagic effect was much stronger after ip than after intramuscular (im) administration (P < 0.05). On the other hand, resting oxygen consumption (VO2) was consistently lower in denervated animals. Ip E administration did not modify VO2, while im E caused increased motor activity and VO2 (P < 0.05). In contrast to control rats, the respiratory exchange ratio in ad libitum fed Gnt rats did not decrease after Ip E administration, suggesting a lack of effect upon lipid mobilization. The lower rate of body weight gain induced by neonatal Gnt sympathectomy might be due to lower daily food intake possibly related, in part, to the sensitization of the alpha-adrenergic porto-hepatic response to endogenous catecholamines. Compared with controls, Gnt-treated rats also showed a limited thermogenic capacity not related to feeding, and a greater degree of carbohydrate oxidation, possibly due to a defect in E-induced lipolysis, which is beta-adrenergic.

Blood pressure responses and drinking following central angiotensin II in adult rats guanethidine-sympathectomised at birth

Rats pups were sympathectomised with daily, for 3 weeks, injections of guanethidine (0.01 ml/g body weight), starting the second day after birth. They were separated from their respective dams at 6 weeks, and when they had reached their adult weight (350 g), the males were used to study the role of the sympathetic nervous system in the blood pressure and drinking responses to central injections of angiotensin II (AII, 250 ng). Littermates injected with 0.15 NaCl served as controls. Mean blood pressure was similar in both experimental and control groups (118 +/- 6 versus 128 +/- 4 mmHg) though the sympathectomised rats had a less stable baseline blood pressure than the controls. AII injected into the third cerebral ventricle produced similar increases in blood pressure and drinking responses in both groups. From these results we conclude that other systems appeared to have compensated for the lack of the sympathetic nervous system in normal blood pressure regulation and in stimulated (AII) blood pressure increases.

Body weight gain after VMH lesions in adult female rats guanethidine-sympathectomized at birth

The role of the sympathetic nervous system in body weight gain produced by lesions of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) was studied in adult female rats that had been sympathectomized from birth for 3 weeks with daily injections of guanethidine (0.01 ml/g body weight) starting the second day after birth. Female littermates injected with 0.15 M NaCl served as controls. Body weight gain during the dynamic phase after the VMH lesion was the same in the sympathectomized and control groups of rats, whereas the treated rats gained weight at a slower rate than the controls in the static phase. The increase in food intake stimulated by the VMH lesion peaked sooner and remained elevated longer in the controls than in the experimental animals despite the similar increases in body weight gain. These results indicate that the sympathetic nervous system may play an important role in body weight gain during the static phase following a VMH lesion in adulthood.

Refeeding and insulin increase lipoprotein lipase activity in rat brown adipose tissue

Induction of lipoprotein lipase activity in brown adipose tissue (BAT) in response to cold stress has earlier been shown to be regulated by a beta-adrenergic mechanism and to be dependent on mRNA synthesis. In the present study, we have investigated the acute effects of refeeding after a short starvation period and the hormonal mechanism underlying the observed effects. Refeeding was found to rapidly increase tissue wet weight and lipoprotein lipase activity. The increase in enzyme activity could be blocked by the RNA synthesis inhibitor actinomycin D, indicating a gene activation. beta-Adrenergic blockade had no effect on this elevation of enzyme activity, but the increase could be mimicked by insulin injection. The results suggest that BAT contains two different pathways for regulation of lipoprotein lipase activity, both involving mRNA synthesis.

Experimental obesity: a homeostatic failure due to defective nutrient stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system

The basic hypothesis of this review is that studies on models of experimental obesity can provide insight into the control systems regulating body nutrient stores in humans. In this homeostatic or feedback approach to analysis of the nutrient control system, we have examined the afferent feedback signals, the central controller, and the efferent control elements regulating the controlled system of nutrient intake, storage, and oxidation. The mechanisms involved in the beginning and ending of single meals must clearly be related to the long-term changes in fat stores, although this relationship is far from clear. Changes in total nutrient storage in adipose tissue can arise as a consequence of changes in the quantity of nutrients ingested in one form or another or a decrease in the utilization of the ingested nutrients. A change in energy intake can be effected by increased size of individual meals, increased number of meals in a 24-hour period, or a combination of these events. Similarly, a decrease in utilization of these nutrients can develop through changes in resting metabolic energy expenditure which are associated with one of more of the biological cycles such as protein metabolism, triglyceride for glycogen synthesis and breakdown, or maintenance of ionic gradients for Na+ + K+ across cell walls. In addition, differences in energy expenditure related to the thermogenesis of eating or to the level of physical activity may account for differences in nutrient utilization.

Influence of sympathectomy on body weight of rats given chow or supermarket diets

Rats that were neonatally sympathectomized with guanethidine (GUA) and given access to a four-component supermarket diet (SD) when either adolescent or adult gained weight at the same rate as controls. Adrenodemedullation (MDL) of adults, either alone or in combination with GUA treatment, also failed to influence the development of dietary obesity. Neonatal sympathectomy induced small changes in caloric consumption and diet preferences. These results question the notion that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is an essential contributor to the control of body weight and the development of dietary obesity.