AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 261, Issue 4 912-R919, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society
Zucker and Wistar diabetic fatty rats show different response to adrenalectomy
I. J. Turkenkopf, R. A. Kava, A. Feldweg, C. Horowitz, M. R. Greenwood and P. R. Johnson
Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601.
The short-term effects of adrenalectomy on certain aspects of glucose
homeostasis and adiposity were examined in Zucker and Wistar diabetic fatty
(WDF) rats. Ten-week-old male obese and lean WDF and Zucker rats were
adrenalectomized or underwent sham operation. Obese rats of each strain
were pair fed the intake of obese adrenalectomized rats. Intragastric
glucose tolerance tests showed that sham-operated obese rats of both
strains were severely hyperinsulinemic compared with leans; adrenalectomy
and pair feeding reduced palsma insulin to lean levels in Zucker but not
WDF rats. At the time they were killed, sham-operated obese WDF rats were
significantly hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic compared with other
groups, but adrenalectomy reduced plasma glucose and insulin to lean levels
in both strains. Adrenalectomy reduced inguinal and retroperitoneal fat pad
weights more in Zucker than WDF obese rats. Although adrenalectomy
decreased epididymal and inguinal fat cell size in both obese rat strains,
the effect was greater in Zucker compared with WDF rats. These data suggest
that the basis for the differential response to adrenalectomy in obese WDF
and Zucker rats may reside in their different genetic backgrounds.
