Vettor R, Pagano C, Fabris R, Lombardi A M, Macor C, Federspil G
Institute of Semeiotica Medica, University of Padua, Italy.
Life Sci. 1993;52(7):657-61. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(93)90457-e.
Recently, a role of beta-Endorphin on peripheral tissue metabolism has been suggested. A lipolytic effect of beta-Endorphin has been observed both in vivo and in vitro in animals but, at present, there is no evidence for a similar effect in humans. In this study, we investigated the lipolytic effect of beta-Endorphin in isolated human adipocytes. beta-Endorphin induced a significant increase in glycerol release in isolated human fat cells. Naloxone was able to inhibit the beta-Endorphin-induced lipolysis. The opioid antagonist alone had no effect on basal lipolysis and on Epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis when administered together with this hormone. Our results suggest that beta-Endorphin may play a role on lipolysis also in human fat cells and that this effect may be mediated by a specific opiate receptor.
