HORMONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING FAT DEPOSITION IN THE INTERSCAPULAR BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE OF THE WHITE RAT¹

Abstract

introduction IT HAS already been reported that prolonged exposure to cold leads to a hypertrophy of the interscapular brown adipose tissue in the rat (Pagé and Babineau, 1950). Since in such animals metabolism is necessarily enhanced, it was thought worthwhile to investigate the effects of hyperthyroidism on the brown fat of rats kept at ordinary room temperature. The role of adrenal hormones was also studied in view of the findings of Fawcett and Jones (1949) that the functional integrity of the adrenal cortex is essential for the normal complement of lipids in brown adipose tissue. It has also been reported that during stress, changes in the weight and appearance of this tissue parallel changes in the adrenals (Selye and Timiras, 1949; Lemonde and Timiras, 1951.) material and methods Young albino male rats of the Wistar strain were used. They were housed in individual cages and fed a purified ration supplemented with crystalline vitamins.