[Deposition of potassium and water in the brown adipose tissue of cold-adapted rats].

The rats adapted to 0-4 degrees C increased water content in the BAT. The Na and K intracellular contents was unaltered during first month of the adaptation. K content in the BAT was considerably increased by the 10th and 18th weeks of the adaptation. A positive correlation between Na and K contents was revealed in the BAT of both adapted and unadapted rats. The increase of K concentration and the decrease of Na/K ratio suggest that, in prolonged adaptation, the Na-pump power grows more than is necessary for compensation of the high fluxes of cations through the cell membranes in the BAT.