Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1990 Nov;86(5):1595–1600. doi: 10.1172/JCI114880

Beta-adrenoceptor expression in human fat cells from different regions.

P Arner 1, L Hellström 1, H Wahrenberg 1, M Brönnegård 1
PMCID: PMC296908  PMID: 2173724

Abstract

The expression of beta-adrenoceptors (BAR) was investigated in abdominal and gluteal fat cells of 32 nonobese men and women using radioligand binding and RNA excess solution hybridization. In both sexes the number of BAR binding sites was about twice as high in abdominal as in gluteal fat cells (P less than 0.01). Northern blot analysis of total RNA from adipose tissue showed hybridization of the BAR1 probe to an mRNA species of about 2.5 kb and of the BAR2 probe to an mRNA species of approximately 2.2 kb. The steady-state mRNA levels of BAR 1 and BAR 2 were also about twice as high in abdominal as in gluteal adipocytes of men and women (P less than 0.01). In abdominal fat cells the mRNA levels were approximately 45 and 30 molecules/cell for BAR1 and BAR2, respectively. There were no regional or sex variations in BAR 1 and BAR 2 mRNA stability. The apparent half-life of mRNA for both receptor subtypes was approximately 6 h in both regions. The mRNA levels for beta actin did not differ between the two regions in either sex. Thus, differences in expression of the genes encoding for BAR 1 and BAR 2 can explain why abdominal fat cells have more BAR than gluteal fat cells. This variation in gene expression may be a molecular mechanism underlying the well known regional differences in catecholamine-induced lipolysis activity between central and peripheral adipose tissue.

Full text

PDF
1595

Images in this article

1597Image
on p.1597

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bahouth S. W., Hadcock J. R., Malbon C. C. Expression of mRNA of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in Xenopus oocytes results from structurally distinct receptor mRNAs. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jun 25;263(18):8822–8826. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Björntorp P. Fat cell distribution and metabolism. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1987;499:66–72. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb36198.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brönnegård M., Andersson O., Edwall D., Lund J., Norstedt G., Carstedt-Duke J. Human calpactin II (lipocortin I) messenger ribonucleic acid is not induced by glucocorticoids. Mol Endocrinol. 1988 Aug;2(8):732–739. doi: 10.1210/mend-2-8-732. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cleveland D. W., Lopata M. A., MacDonald R. J., Cowan N. J., Rutter W. J., Kirschner M. W. Number and evolutionary conservation of alpha- and beta-tubulin and cytoplasmic beta- and gamma-actin genes using specific cloned cDNA probes. Cell. 1980 May;20(1):95–105. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90238-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Collins S., Bouvier M., Bolanowski M. A., Caron M. G., Lefkowitz R. J. cAMP stimulates transcription of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor gene in response to short-term agonist exposure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jul;86(13):4853–4857. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.13.4853. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Collins S., Caron M. G., Lefkowitz R. J. Beta-adrenergic receptors in hamster smooth muscle cells are transcriptionally regulated by glucocorticoids. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jul 5;263(19):9067–9070. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Durnam D. M., Palmiter R. D. A practical approach for quantitating specific mRNAs by solution hybridization. Anal Biochem. 1983 Jun;131(2):385–393. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(83)90188-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Emorine L. J., Marullo S., Briend-Sutren M. M., Patey G., Tate K., Delavier-Klutchko C., Strosberg A. D. Molecular characterization of the human beta 3-adrenergic receptor. Science. 1989 Sep 8;245(4922):1118–1121. doi: 10.1126/science.2570461. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Engfeldt P., Arner P., Wahrenberg H., Ostman J. An assay for beta-adrenergic receptors in isolated human fat cells. J Lipid Res. 1982 Jul;23(5):715–719. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Engfeldt P., Hellmér J., Wahrenberg H., Arner P. Effects of insulin on adrenoceptor binding and the rate of catecholamine-induced lipolysis in isolated human fat cells. J Biol Chem. 1988 Oct 25;263(30):15553–15560. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Frielle T., Collins S., Daniel K. W., Caron M. G., Lefkowitz R. J., Kobilka B. K. Cloning of the cDNA for the human beta 1-adrenergic receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Nov;84(22):7920–7924. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.22.7920. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hadcock J. R., Malbon C. C. Down-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors: agonist-induced reduction in receptor mRNA levels. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(14):5021–5025. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.14.5021. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hadcock J. R., Malbon C. C. Regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors by "permissive" hormones: glucocorticoids increase steady-state levels of receptor mRNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Nov;85(22):8415–8419. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.22.8415. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hadcock J. R., Wang H. Y., Malbon C. C. Agonist-induced destabilization of beta-adrenergic receptor mRNA. Attenuation of glucocorticoid-induced up-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors. J Biol Chem. 1989 Nov 25;264(33):19928–19933. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kather H., Zöllig K., Simon B., Schlierf G. Human fat cell adenylate cyclase: regional differences in adrenaline responsiveness. Eur J Clin Invest. 1977 Dec;7(6):595–597. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1977.tb01657.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kobilka B. K., Dixon R. A., Frielle T., Dohlman H. G., Bolanowski M. A., Sigal I. S., Yang-Feng T. L., Francke U., Caron M. G., Lefkowitz R. J. cDNA for the human beta 2-adrenergic receptor: a protein with multiple membrane-spanning domains and encoded by a gene whose chromosomal location is shared with that of the receptor for platelet-derived growth factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Jan;84(1):46–50. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.1.46. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Lafontan M., Dang-Tran L., Berlan M. Alpha-adrenergic antilipolytic effect of adrenaline in human fat cells of the thigh: comparison with adrenaline responsiveness of different fat deposits. Eur J Clin Invest. 1979 Aug;9(4):261–266. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1979.tb00883.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Lefkowitz R. J., Caron M. G. Adrenergic receptors. Models for the study of receptors coupled to guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins. J Biol Chem. 1988 Apr 15;263(11):4993–4996. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Leibel R. L., Hirsch J. Site- and sex-related differences in adrenoreceptor status of human adipose tissue. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987 Jun;64(6):1205–1210. doi: 10.1210/jcem-64-6-1205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Marcus C., Ehrén H., Bolme P., Arner P. Regulation of lipolysis during the neonatal period. Importance of thyrotropin. J Clin Invest. 1988 Nov;82(5):1793–1797. doi: 10.1172/JCI113793. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Marcus C., Karpe B., Bolme P., Sonnenfeld T., Arner P. Changes in catecholamine-induced lipolysis in isolated human fat cells during the first year of life. J Clin Invest. 1987 Jun;79(6):1812–1818. doi: 10.1172/JCI113022. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Mauriège P., De Pergola G., Berlan M., Lafontan M. Human fat cell beta-adrenergic receptors: beta-agonist-dependent lipolytic responses and characterization of beta-adrenergic binding sites on human fat cell membranes with highly selective beta 1-antagonists. J Lipid Res. 1988 May;29(5):587–601. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Melton D. A., Krieg P. A., Rebagliati M. R., Maniatis T., Zinn K., Green M. R. Efficient in vitro synthesis of biologically active RNA and RNA hybridization probes from plasmids containing a bacteriophage SP6 promoter. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Sep 25;12(18):7035–7056. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.18.7035. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Smith U., Hammersten J., Björntorp P., Kral J. G. Regional differences and effect of weight reduction on human fat cell metabolism. Eur J Clin Invest. 1979 Oct;9(5):327–332. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1979.tb00892.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Strader C. D., Candelore M. R., Rands E., Dixon R. A. Beta-adrenergic receptor subtype is an intrinsic property of the receptor gene product. Mol Pharmacol. 1987 Aug;32(1):179–183. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wahrenberg H., Lönnqvist F., Arner P. Mechanisms underlying regional differences in lipolysis in human adipose tissue. J Clin Invest. 1989 Aug;84(2):458–467. doi: 10.1172/JCI114187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wahrenberg H., Lönnqvist F., Engfeldt P., Arner P. Abnormal action of catecholamines on lipolysis in adipocytes of type I diabetic patients treated with insulin. Diabetes. 1989 Apr;38(4):524–533. doi: 10.2337/diab.38.4.524. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Investigation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Clinical Investigation

RESOURCES