Ueno N, Oh-ishi S, Segawa M, Nishida M, Fukuwatari Y, Kizaki T, Ookawara T, Ohno H
Department of Public Health, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Mech Ageing Dev. 1998 Jan 12;100(1):67-76. doi: 10.1016/s0047-6374(97)00123-1.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a highly thermogenic tissue in young animals, is relatively atrophied and thermogenetically quiescent (e.g. as measured by colonic temperature) in mice that are obese or old. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of aging (3.1 (young) versus 14.6 (old) months old) on BAT activity in lean and obese (ob/ob) mice. In young but not in old mice, BAT mass in terms of weight per unit body weight was significantly lower in obese mice than in lean mice. A significant increase in BAT mass of obese mice with age was noted in terms of weight or weight per unit body weight, probably because of a tendency to become white adipose tissue and the deposit of fat, accompanied by the lowest levels of total protein, guanosine 5'-diphosphate binding, and uncoupling protein (UCP) antigen in the mitochondria of BAT, as well as the lowest colonic temperature among the groups examined. Unlike old lean animals, the old obese (ob/ob) animals did not increase but rather decreased the expression of mRNA for UCP in the mitochondria of BAT. These findings suggest that a marked decrease in BAT thermogenic capacity and activity is noted in old obese mice, probably due to synergism of aging and obesity.
棕色脂肪组织（BAT）是幼龄动物中一种高度产热的组织，在肥胖或老龄小鼠中相对萎缩且产热静止（例如通过结肠温度测量）。本研究的目的是调查衰老（3.1个月龄（幼龄）与14.6个月龄（老龄））对瘦型和肥胖型（ob/ob）小鼠BAT活性的影响。在幼龄小鼠而非老龄小鼠中，肥胖小鼠的BAT质量（以单位体重计）显著低于瘦型小鼠。就重量或单位体重而言，肥胖小鼠的BAT质量随年龄显著增加，这可能是因为有变成白色脂肪组织和脂肪沉积的趋势，同时BAT线粒体中的总蛋白、鸟苷5'-二磷酸结合以及解偶联蛋白（UCP）抗原水平最低，并且在所检查的组中结肠温度最低。与老龄瘦型动物不同，老龄肥胖（ob/ob）动物BAT线粒体中UCP的mRNA表达没有增加反而减少。这些发现表明，老龄肥胖小鼠的BAT产热能力和活性显著降低，这可能是衰老和肥胖协同作用的结果。
