The effect of insulin and noradrenaline on the uptake of 2-[1-14C]deoxyglucose in vivo by brown adipose tissue and other glucose-utilising tissues of the mouse

Abstract

The uptake of 2-[1-14C]deoxyglucose in vivo by brown adipose tissue was greater than that of brain or heart in control mice on a whole tissue basis. When mice were treated with noradrenaline the rate of uptake of 2-[1-14C]deoxyglucose by brown adipose tissue was increased 6-fold with the only other change occurring in heart where a 5-fold increase was observed. After administration of insulin the uptake of 2-[1-14C]deoxyglucose in vivo was increased in heart, brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and muscle. The amount of 2-[1-14C]deoxyglucose taken up by brown adipose tissue compared to other tissues and the changes in this uptake after administration of noradrenaline or insulin suggest that brown adipose tissue is capable of playing a quantitatively important role in glucose removal from the blood.