Some aspects of fatty acid metabolism in brown adipose tissue

The action of catecholamines on white and brown adipose tissue is compared. The available evidence indicates that lipolysis is initiated in both tissues by hormonal action. There are, however, some differences in the behavior of the lipolytic process in the two tissues in their response to theophylline, nicotinic acid and insulin which remain unexplained. It would appear that the release of free fatty acids triggers the stimulation of O₂ consumption in both tissues. In brown adipose tissue no evidence has been obtained to indicate that the increased O₂ consumption is geared to the production of ATP for the purpose of reesterification of the released free fatty acids, as is the case in white adipose tissue. One of nine papers to be published from the Symposium “Brown Adipose Tissue,” presented at the AOCS-AACC Joint Meeting, Washington, D.C., March 1968.