Adipose Tissue Metabolism in Young and Middle-Aged Men after Control for Total Body Fatness1

The aim of this study was to compare the sc adipose tissue metabolism of young (29 +/- 4 yr) vs. middle-aged men (57 +/- 5 yr), once the concomitant variation in total adiposity was taken into account. For this purpose, sc abdominal and femoral adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activities, as well as fat cell lipolytic responses, were investigated in 2 groups of 16 men, differing in age but displaying similar adipose tissue mass (within 2 kg) and sc abdominal adipose tissue area, measured by computed tomography (within 15 cm2). No difference was observed in adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity of young vs. middle-aged subjects, regardless of the adipose region considered. Epinephrine induced antilipolysis at low concentrations (10(-9) to 10(-7) mol/L) and a net lipolytic response at higher doses (10(-6) to 10(-5) mol/L), regardless of the subjects' age and the anatomic location of fat. In addition, the selective alpha2-adrenergic agonist, UK-14304, promoted a similar antilipolytic response in sc abdominal and femoral adipose cells from both groups. However, maximal lipolysis induced by isoproterenol (beta-adrenergic agonist) or by postadrenoceptor agents such as dibutyryl-cAMP, forskolin, and theophylline were lower in both adipose regions of middle-aged (as compared with young) men. No difference in the beta- or the alpha2-adrenoceptor sensitivity of sc adipose cells was observed between groups. These results indicate that there is, with age, a selective decrease in the lipolytic capacity to beta-adrenergic agonist, which seems to be caused by postadrenoceptor impairments. Because subjects in the 2 age-groups displayed similar body fatness, these alterations are independent from the age-expected increase in total adiposity.