Effects of starvation on the tissular lipogenic rate in the obese Zucker rat.

The lipogenic rate of the obese rats was significantly higher than that of the lean rats in liver, white adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, heart and carcass. In the lean rats, a 24 h starvation period caused a significant decrease in the lipogenic rate of white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle while it increased that of heart, brain and brown adipose tissue. In the obese rats, starvation decreased the lipogenic rate in liver, skeletal muscle, white adipose tissue, brown adipose tissue and carcass. In spite of this, liver and skeletal muscle showed higher rates of lipid synthesis than the corresponding fed lean. It is concluded that starvation induces a qualitatively similar response in the obese versus the lean rat although the total lipogenic capacity of the animal is still higher.