Abstract
The role of α1-adrenoceptors in lipid mobilization and blood flow was investigated in situ using microdialysis of subcutaneous adipose tissue in severely obese subjects. The lipolysis rate was assessed by determination of interstitial glycerol concentration. The α1-adrenoceptor agonist norfenefrine caused an increase in glycerol level in adipose tissue that was similar to that observed with the physiologic α1,2-β1-adrenoceptor agonist norepinephrine, whereas the α1-adrenoceptor antagonist urapidil showed no effect on basal lipolysis rate. However, the enhanced glycerol concentration due to norfenefrine and norepinephrine was suppressed in the presence of urapidil. The β-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol showed no effect on norfenefrine-stimulated glycerol outflow. Blood flow was assessed using the ethanol escape technique. Perfusion with norfenefrine decreased blood flow, whereas urapidil enhanced blood flow significantly. Despite the increase in blood flow, the basal interstitial glycerol concentration remained unchanged. Although norfenefrine at high concentrations could inhibit the urapidil-induced increase in blood flow, the norfenefrine-induced glycerol output was not affected. These results demonstrate that α1-adrenoceptors are involved in regulation of lipolysis rate and microcirculation of adipose tissue. However, the observed changes in local blood flow were not related to glycerol output.
Footnotes
- Abbreviation:
- ANOVA
- analysis of variance
- Received August 31, 2001.
- Accepted January 10, 2002.
- The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
JPET articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page.
|