Carbohydrate feeding stimulates, and fasting decreases the sympathetic nervous system activity and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. This study was performed to assess the hypothesis that these effects were secondary to changes in insulin concentrations in the central nervous system.
BAT sympathetic activity was assessed by comparing 3H-GDP binding to isolated mitochondria of innervated and denervated interscapular BAT of three groups of 10 week old male Wistar rats: food-restricted, 48 h fasted or ad libitum fed. During the three days preceding this measurement, animals received a continuous intracerebroventricular (ivc) infusion of insulin (0.48 U/d) or vehicle.
In food-restricted rats, 3H-GDP binding to mitochondria of innervated BAT was 41% higher than that to denervated BAT. Icv insulin did not stimulate 3H-GDP binding in innervated BAT. In 48 h fasted rats, 3H-GDP binding to mitochondria of innervated BAT was reduced by 30-50%, while the activity of denervated BAT was minimally affected. Icv insulin did not prevent this fasting-induced drop in BAT. In rats fed ad libitum, icv insulin decreased food intake by 17% (P < 0.05) and increased 3H-GDP binding to innervated BAT by 27% (P < 0.05).
Intracerebroventricular insulin stimulates BAT activity in rats fed ad libitum but not in food-restricted or fasted rats. This demonstrates that the decrease in BAT activity observed during fasting is unlikely to be due to a decrease in insulin concentration in the nervous system.