Rapid enhancement of acyl-CoA synthetase, LPL, and GLUT-4 mRNAs in adipose tissue of VMH rats.

Obesity is frequently accompanied by metabolic and cardiovascular complications. The accumulation of intra-abdominal visceral fat has been shown to be more closely related to various complications of obesity than that of subcutaneous fat. To elucidate the metabolic characteristics of visceral fat during fat accumulation, we examined the changes of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) mRNA abundance and its activity, glucose transporter (GLUT)-4, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptor mRNA abundances in mesenteric and subcutaneous fat in early stages of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)-lesioned rats. ACS activity increased 4.9-fold in the mesenteric fat on the 1st day, remaining unchanged in the subcutaneous fat. ACS, GLUT-4, and LPL mRNA levels were all increased in both fat tissues of VMH rats. The relative increase of mRNAs in VMH day 1 was greater in the mesenteric fat, suggesting that mesenteric fat shows rapid response during fat accumulation. VLDL receptor mRNA levels showed no significant change in either fat tissue. We conclude that ACS, GLUT-4, and LPL may contribute to fat accumulation at the gene expression level from a very early stage during the development of obesity.