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Effect of photoperiod and acclimation temperature on nonshivering thermogenesis and GDP-binding of brown fat mitochondria in the Djungarian hamsterPhodopus s. sungorus

  • Heart, Circulation, Respiration and Blood; Environmental and Exercise Physiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Acclimation to short photoperiod at 23° C constantT a causedP. sungorus to improve their NST capacity from 752 to 1,082 mW. Chronic cold exposure in short photoperiod further enhanced the NST capacity, reaching a maximum level of 1,573 mW at −5° C acclimation temperature. Improvements in NST capacity were always accompanied by an increase in brown fat mitochondrial mass and GDP-binding of brown fat mitochondria, in proportion with the cold load applied during temperature acclimation (23°, 15°, 5°, −5° C). Brown fat mitochondrial protein increased from 7.41 mg (23° CT a, long photoperiod) through 21.6 mg (23° CT a, short photoperiod) and 81.6 mg (−5° CT a, short photoperiod). This ∼10-fold increase was accompanied by a ∼35-fold increase in GDP-binding (2.0, 7.3 and 71.6 nmol GDP bound, respectively), demonstrating that the increase in capacity for uncoupled respiration in brown fat is of primary significance for thermogenic acclimation to cold as well as to short photoperiod.

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Abbreviations

Cox:

cytochrome c oxidase

GDP:

guanosine-5-diphosphate

NST:

nonshivering thermogenesis

K-Tes:

potassium salt of N-tris-(hydroxymethyl)-methyl-2-amino-ethane-sulfonic-acid

T a :

ambient temperatures

U:

units of enzyme activity (μmol min− at 25° C

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Biologie, Philipps-Universität, Postfach 1929, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    Herbert Wiesinger, Gerhard Heldmaier & Astrid Buchberger

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  1. Herbert Wiesinger
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  2. Gerhard Heldmaier
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  3. Astrid Buchberger
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Wiesinger, H., Heldmaier, G. & Buchberger, A. Effect of photoperiod and acclimation temperature on nonshivering thermogenesis and GDP-binding of brown fat mitochondria in the Djungarian hamsterPhodopus s. sungorus . Pflugers Arch. 413, 667 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581818

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581818

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