Biomaterial Database

Cold acclimation-associated changes in brown adipose tissue do not necessarily indicate an increase of nonshivering thermogenesis in C57BL/6J mice. 1996

M I Talan, and S A Kirov, and L A Clow, and N A Kosheleva

Laboratory of Behavioral Sciences, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. MARKT@VAX.GRC.NIA.NIH.GOV

We have reported previously that a cold acclimation procedure (3-hr partial restraint at 6 degrees C, repeated 3 times at 2-week intervals) usually improves the cold tolerance of adult C57BL/6J mice. Those mice that did not improve their cold tolerance had lower cold-induced sympathetic nervous outflow to the interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT), suggesting a failure in the mechanisms of nonshivering thermogenesis. To understand the origin of this failure, this study was intended to measure nonshivering thermogenesis in mice that did not improve their cold tolerance after the cold acclimation procedure. After being subjected 3 times to a partial restraint at 6 degrees C, mice were anesthetized with urethane, immobilized with vecuronium bromide, and placed on artificial ventilation. The VO2 and VCO2 in expired air were measured and metabolic heat production (MHP) was calculated while body temperature was artificially lowered to 7.5 degrees C below control level. In a separate group of mice, the total amount and concentration of mitochondrial uncoupling protein, thermogenin (UCP), in IBAT was measured immediately after completion of the cold-acclimation procedure. The concentration and the amount of UCP in the mitochondria of IBAT was significantly higher in all mice that had been presented to the cold acclimation procedure, regardless of its outcome, than in mice that had never been exposed to an environment below room temperature (NAIVE). MHP increased significantly during body cooling in all mice. However, MHP before and during cold stimulation in mice that did not improve their cold tolerance as a result of the cold-acclimation procedure was significantly lower than the MHP of animals in which cold tolerance was improved, and was not different from MHP of the NAIVE group. Therefore, in mice in which cold tolerance did not improve after repeated cold exposure, the anatomical and biochemical changes in brown adipose tissue typical of cold acclimation were not associated with a cold-induced increase in MHP. We infer that the expression of UCP in brown adipose tissue is a necessary, but not sufficient, attribute of cold acclimation. Cold acclimation, measured as increased cold tolerance, occurs only if synthesis of UCP in BAT is associated with an increased cold-induced response of the sympathetic nervous system.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008810	Mice, Inbred C57BL	One of the first INBRED MOUSE STRAINS to be sequenced. This strain is commonly used as genetic background for transgenic mouse models. Refractory to many tumors, this strain is also preferred model for studying role of genetic variations in development of diseases.	Mice, C57BL,Mouse, C57BL,Mouse, Inbred C57BL,C57BL Mice,C57BL Mice, Inbred,C57BL Mouse,C57BL Mouse, Inbred,Inbred C57BL Mice,Inbred C57BL Mouse
D009125	Muscle Relaxants, Central	A heterogeneous group of drugs used to produce muscle relaxation, excepting the neuromuscular blocking agents. They have their primary clinical and therapeutic uses in the treatment of muscle spasm and immobility associated with strains, sprains, and injuries of the back and, to a lesser degree, injuries to the neck. They have been used also for the treatment of a variety of clinical conditions that have in common only the presence of skeletal muscle hyperactivity, for example, the muscle spasms that can occur in MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. (From Smith and Reynard, Textbook of Pharmacology, 1991, p358)	Centrally Acting Muscle Relaxants,Central Muscle Relaxants,Relaxants, Central Muscle
D010101	Oxygen Consumption	The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346)	Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D001833	Body Temperature Regulation	The processes of heating and cooling that an organism uses to control its temperature.	Heat Loss,Thermoregulation,Regulation, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulation, Body,Body Temperature Regulations,Heat Losses,Loss, Heat,Losses, Heat,Regulations, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulations, Body,Thermoregulations
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D002001	Adipose Tissue, Brown	A thermogenic form of adipose tissue composed of BROWN ADIPOCYTES. It is found in newborns of many species including humans, and in hibernating mammals. Brown fat is richly vascularized, innervated, and densely packed with MITOCHONDRIA which can generate heat directly from the stored lipids.	Brown Fat,Hibernating Gland,Brown Adipose Tissue,Fat, Brown,Tissue, Brown Adipose
D003080	Cold Temperature	An absence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably below an accustomed norm.	Cold,Cold Temperatures,Temperature, Cold,Temperatures, Cold
D006339	Heart Rate	The number of times the HEART VENTRICLES contract per unit of time, usually per minute.	Cardiac Rate,Chronotropism, Cardiac,Heart Rate Control,Heartbeat,Pulse Rate,Cardiac Chronotropy,Cardiac Chronotropism,Cardiac Rates,Chronotropy, Cardiac,Control, Heart Rate,Heart Rates,Heartbeats,Pulse Rates,Rate Control, Heart,Rate, Cardiac,Rate, Heart,Rate, Pulse
D000064	Acclimatization	Adaptation to a new environment or to a change in the old.	Acclimation