AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 249, Issue 1 13-R22, Copyright © 1985 by American Physiological Society
Effects of adrenalectomy on energy balance of obese mice are diet dependent
C. K. Smith and D. R. Romsos
Obese (ob/ob) and lean mice were adrenalectomized at 3 or 6 wk of age and
fed a high-carbohydrate stock diet or a high-fat semipurified diet for 3
wk. Adrenalectomy of obese mice fed the stock diet reduced the energy
intake, energy gain, and efficiency of energy retention so that the values
equaled those of lean mice. Hindlimb muscle gain of adrenalectomized obese
mice fed the stock diet increased by 50-100%, and concentrations of plasma
insulin were reduced so that they also approached values in lean mice. In
contrast to results obtained when the stock diet was fed, adrenalectomy of
obese mice fed the high-fat diet resulted in only slight reductions in
energy intake, energy gain, or efficiency of energy retention. Likewise,
muscle gain was not improved nor were plasma insulin concentrations
decreased when adrenalectomized obese mice were fed the high-fat diet.
Although adrenal secretions contribute substantially to the gross obesity
that develops in ob/ob mice fed the stock diet, these secretions are
unnecessary for development of obesity in ob/ob mice fed the high-fat diet.
Factors other than adrenal secretions per se, which are influenced by diet
composition, thus mediate development of obesity in ob/ob mice.
