Skip to main content
Log in

Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis During Aging and Senescence

Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have found that cold- and norepinephrine-induced brown adipose tissue (BAT) nonshiveringthermogenesis (NST) is significantly lower in old male Fischer 344 rats and is associatedwith the decreased ability of these animals to maintain homeothermy. This decline in BATthermogenesis is not as great in females. Although the mechanism(s) underlying this genderdifference in the age-related decrease in brown fat NST are not completely elucidated, theydo not appear to reflect decreased sympathetic neural activity of BAT in the older males vs.females. Rather, our investigations, strongly suggest that the blunted cold-induced heatproduction of BAT reflects less functional BAT. The fact that the older animals have less functionalBAT than do their younger counterparts may predispose them to the accumulation of excessbody fat. Our studies have also found that near the end of the natural life of these rats, theyenter a state of senescence that can be identified by spontaneous rapid body weight loss,resulting from decreased food intake. In this state, the rats are considerably more susceptibleto cold than are comparably aged presenescent (body weight stable) rats of the samechronological age. The greater hypothermia exhibited by the senescent vs. presenescent rats during coldexposure is associated with a significant reduction in the amount of functional brown fat andin the amount of heat each brown fat cell can generate. It is the intent of this review to discussthe findings of these investigations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

REFERENCES

  • Blanton, C. A., Horwitz, B. A., Murtagh-Mark, C., Gietzen, D. W., Griffey, S. M., and McDonald, R. M. (1998). Amer. J. Physiol. 275, R1494-R1502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie, B. B., Costa, E., Dlabac, A., Neff, N. H., and Smookler, H. H. (1966). J. Pharmacol. Exp. Therap. 154(721), 493-498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, K. J. (1987). Brit. J. Hosp. Med. 38, 506-514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cristofalo, V. J., and Pignolo, R. J. (1995). in Handbook of Physiology, Section 11: Aging(Masoro, E. J., ed.), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 53-82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falk, B., Bar-Or, O., Smolander, J., and Frost, G. (1994). J. Appl. Physiol. 76, 72-78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Florez-Duquet, M., Horwitz, B. A., and McDonald, R. B. (1998). Amer. J. Physiol. 274, R196-R203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. O., and Frydman, M. L. (1978). Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 56, 110-122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. O., and Frydman, M. L. (1979). Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 57, 257-270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabaldon, A. M., Florez-Duquet, M. L., Hamilton, J. S., McDonald, R. B., and Horwitz, B. A.(1995). Amer. J. Physiol. 268, R931-R941.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabaldon, A. M., McDonald, R. B., and Horwitz, B. A. (1998). Amer. J. Physiol. 274, E726-E736.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald, D. A., Marck, B. T., and Matsumoto, A. M. (1996). Endocrinology 137, 4460-4467.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himms-Hagen, J. (1985). In New Perspectives in Adipose Tissue: Structure, Function and Development(Cryer, A., and Van, R. L. R., eds.), Butterworths, London, pp. 199-222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himms-Hagen, J., Cui, J., and Sigurdson, S. L. (1990). Neurochem. Intern. 17, 271-279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horvath, S. M., Radcliffe, C. E., Hutt, B. K., and Spurr, G. B. (1955). J. Appl. Physiol. 8, 145-148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huguet, F. E., Comoy, E., Piriou, A., and Bohuon, C. (1993). Brain Res. 625, 256-260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inoue, Y., Nakao, M., Araki, T., and Ueda, H. (1992). Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. Occup. Physiol. 65, 492-498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawate, R., Talan, M. I., and Engel, B. T. (1993). J. Gerontol. 48, B180-B183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. F., and Wang, L. C. H. (1985). Life Sci. 36, 2025-2032.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lonergan, E. T. (1991). pp. 60, National Academy Press, Washington, D. C.

  • Martin, G. R., Danner, D. B., and Holbrook, N. J. (1993). Annu. Rev. Med 44, 419-429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazzeo, R. S., and Grantham, P. A. (1989). J. Appl. Physiol. 66, 1506-1508.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarter, R. J. (1995). In HandBook of Physiology: Aging(Masoro, E. J., ed.), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 95-118.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCue, J. D. (1996). JAMA 273, 1039-1043.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Stern, J. S., and Horwitz, B. A. (1987). Exp. Gerontol. 22, 409-420.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Horwitz, B. A., Hamilton, J. S., and Stern, J. S. (1988). Amer. J. Physiol. 254, R457-R462.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Hamilton, J. S., Stern, J. S., and Horwitz, B. A. (1989a). Amer. J. Physiol. 256, R1069-R1075.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Day, C., Carlson, K., Stern, J. S., and Horwitz, B. A. (1989b). Amer. J. Physiol. 257, R700-R704.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Hamilton, J. S., and Horwitz, B. A. (1993). Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 204, 117-121.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Murtagh, C. M., and Horwitz, B. A. (1994). Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 207, 102-109.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Florez-Duquet, M., Murtagh-Mark, C., and Horwitz, B. A. (1996). Amer. J. Physiol. 271, R1115-R1122.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. B., Hoban-Higgins, T. M., Ruhe, R. C., Fuller, C. A., and Horwitz, B. A. (1999). Amer. J. Physiol., in press.

  • Mooradian, A. D., and Scarpace, P. J. (1991). Neurochem. Res. 16, 447-451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, L. A., Linares, O. A., Hill, T. J., Sanfield, J. A., Supiano, M. A., Rosen, S. G., and Halter, J. B. (1987). J. Clin. Endocrinol. Met. 65, 508-511.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1989). Older and Wiser: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, NIH Publication No. 892797 Ed., U.S. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, R. M. (1990). Geriatrics 45, 47-55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeifer, M. A., Weinberg, C. R., Cook, D., Best, J. D., Reenan, A., and Halter, J. B. (1983). Amer. J. Med. 75, 249-258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poehlman, E. T., and Horton, E. S. (1990). In Annual Review of Nutrition(Olson, R. E., Bier, D. M., and McCormick, D. B., eds. Vol. 10, Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA, pp. 225-275.

  • Poehlman, E. T., McAuliffe, T., and Danforth, E. (1990). Amer. J. Physiol. 258, E256-262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehnmark, S., Nechad, M., Herron, D., Cannon, B., and Nedergaard, J. (1990). J. Biol. Chem. 265, 16464-16471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S., Fuss, P., and Heyman, M. (1994). J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 272, 1601-1606.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolls, B. J., Dimeo, K., and Shide, D. (1995). Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 62, 923-931.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, J. W., and Troen, B. R. (1980). Endocrinol. Rev. 1, 167-179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkisian, C. A., and Lachs, M.S. (1996). Ann. Intern. Med. 124, 1072-1078.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., and Matheny, M. (1991). Amer. J. Physiol. 260, E226-E231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., Mooradian, A. D., and Morley, J. E. (1988). J. Gerontol. 43, B65-70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., Lowenthal, D. T., and Tumer, N. (1992). Exp. Gerontol. 27, 169-177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., Matheny, M., and Borst, S. E. (1992). Amer. J. Physiol. 262, E185-E190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., Matheny, M., Borst, S., and Tumer, N. (1994). Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 205, 154-161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpace, P. J., Tse, C., and Matheny, M. (1996). Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 211, 374-380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, V. I., Talan, M. I., and Shechtman, O. (1996). J. Gerontol. 51A, B38-B42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shu, Y., and Scarpace, P. J. (1994). J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 23, 188-193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva, J. E., and Larsen, P. R. (1986). Amer. J. Physiol. 251, E639-E643.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugawa, M., and May, T. (1993). Brain Res. 618, 57-62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Supiano, M. A., Linares, O. A., Smith, M. J., and Halter, J. B. (1990). Amer. J. Physiol. 259, E422-E431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talan, M. I., and Ingram, D. K. (1986). Mech. Aging Develop. 33, 247-256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tatelman, H. M., and Talan, M. I. (1990). J. Gerontol. 45, B215-219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J. A., and Horvath, S. M. (1985). J. Appl. Physiol. 58, 180-186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, P. D., and Dillingham, M. A. (1992). Gerontology 38, 315-321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, M. G., Lake, C. R., and Kopin, I. J. (1976). Nature (London) 261, 333-335.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roger B. McDonald.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McDonald, R.B., Horwitz, B.A. Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis During Aging and Senescence. J Bioenerg Biomembr 31, 507–516 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005404708710

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005404708710

Navigation