The receptors responsible for heat production in brown adipose tissue in the young rabbit.

It is known that adrenergic agonists stimulate thermogenesis in the brown fat of the young rabbit but the receptors responsible for mediating the response have not been identified. The infusion of either noradrenaline or isoproterenol (1-2 micrograms . kg-1 X min-1) produced an increase in subcutaneous temperature (0.93 +/- 0.15 and 1.22 +/- 0.10 degrees C, respectively over the interscapular brown fat. At low doses (0.4 microgram . kg-1 X min-1) only isoproterenol was effective. The thermogenic response to isoproterenol was blocked by atenolol, a beta 1-adrenergic antagonist. Neither salbutamol or terbutaline, both beta 2-agonists, produced a temperature increase. Collectively, these data suggest that stimulation of beta 1-adrenoceptor is primarily responsible for the thermogenic activity of brown fat in the rabbit. However, it was found that 53% of the increase in temperature could be blocked by prazosin, an alpha 1-antagonist. Phentolamine was not effective as a blocker. Although a maximal brown fat thermogenic response can be achieved by stimulating the beta-adrenoceptors, the alpha-adrenoceptors appears to play at least an auxiliary role in young rabbit.