Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in rats with obesity-inducing hypothalamic knife cuts

Abstract

Three experiments examined the effects of obesity-inducing parasagittal hypothalamic knife cuts on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in female rats. Knife cuts induced a 4-fold increase in adipose tissue LPL activity. Knife-cut rats with controlled insulin levels were hyperphagic but showed no increase in adipose tissue LPL activity or body weight gain. Prevention of the hyperphagia by food restriction also blocked the changes in LPL activity and weight gain. Finally, exogenous insulin treatment increased adipose tissue LPL activity in the absence of hyperphagia in neurologically-intact rats. We conclude that increased adipose tissue LPL activity may play a permissive role in the development of hypothalamic obesity, with the increase in enzyme activity being secondary to knife-cut-induced hyperinsulinemia.