The effects of meal-feeding and the diurnal cycle on lipogenesis in brown adipose tissue of rats

Abstract

A significant diurnal variation in the rates of lipogenesis in vivo in brown adipose tissue occurred in both virgin and lactating rats. On a meal-feeding regime of either a chow, high-sucrose, or high-lipid diet, there was a very large increase in BAT lipogenesis following the meal. The rates observed after the sucrose meal are the highest so far reported. There was no significant difference in BAT lipogenesis between lactating and virgin rats, contrary to previous reports by others. The pattern of stimulation of BAT lipogenesis by these feeding regimes was different from that for white adipose tissue and liver and was not correlated with plasma insulin levels.

Comparison of the flux of carbon to hepatic glycogen deposition and fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis on refeeding rats fed ad libitum or meal-fed rats with a chow-diet meal

“…The response in brown adipose tissue on refeeding the mealfed rats was similar to that of the 'ad libitum' group, but the rates were higher in the former group (Table 2). A high rate of lipogenesis has been reported in interscapular brown adipose tissue of rats meal-fed with chow or a high-sucrose diet (Thompson & Grigor, 1987).…”