The effect of adrenergic agonists and cyclic AMP on the Na+/K+ ATPase activity of brown adipose tissue.

The Na+/K+ ATPase activity of membrane fractions prepared from brown adipose tissue of cold-acclimated rats could be stimulated by addition of any one of the following: norepinephrine, isoproterenol, cyclic AMP or phenylephrine. These results are consistent with the proposal that in the intact brown adipocyte, the norepinephrine-induced stimulation of the Na+/K+ membrane pump is associated with alpha- as well as beta-adrenergic pathways and is, in part, mediated via cyclic AMP.