Submitted on March 21, 2007
Revised on April 17, 2007
Accepted on April 24, 2007
Sympathetic and sensory innervation of white adipose tissue
Timothy J. Bartness and C. Kay Song
Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-4010
Corresponding Author: bartness{at}gsu.edu
During our study of the reversal of seasonal obesity in Siberian hamsters, we found an interaction between receptors for the pineal hormone melatonin and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) outflow from brain to white adipose tissue (WAT). This ultimately led us and others to conclude that the SNS innervation of WAT is the primary initiator of lipid mobilization in these, as well as other animals including humans. There is strong neurochemical (norepinephrine turnover), neuroanatomical (viral tract tracing) and functional (sympathetic denervation-induced blockade of lipolysis) evidence for the role of the SNS in lipid mobilization. Recent findings suggest the presence of WAT sensory innervation based on strong neuroanatomical (viral tract tracing, immunohistochemical markers of sensory nerves) and suggestive functional (capsaicin sensory denervation-induced WAT growth) evidence, the latter implying a role in conveying adiposity information to the brain. By contrast, parasympathetic nervous system innervation of WAT is characterized by largely negative neuroanatomical evidence (viral tract tracing, immunohistochemical and biochemical markers of parasympathetic nerves). Functional evidence (intraneural stimulation and in situ microdialysis) for the role of the SNS innervation in lipid mobilization in human WAT is convincing with some controversy regarding the level of sympathetic nerve activity in human obesity.
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