Summary
Multilocular (“brown”) adipose tissue, which is found in the newborn and cold-acclimatized adult mammal, has been previously shown to be a significant site of non-shivering heat production; its interscapular and cervical portions possess a venous vascular connection to the inner vertebral sinus. As shown by the present study, the temperatures both in the cervical vertebral canal and in the interscapular adipose tissue are maintained above 39°C in the newborn guinea-pig exposed to a cold environment (16°C), whereas the temperatures drop in the hypothalamus, in the lumbar vertebral canal, and beneath the skin. Electrical activity of the sceletal musculature remained at zero level under these conditions, but oxygen uptake rose by a factor of 3.5 (non-shivering thermogenesis). After pharmacologically induced blockade of the nonshivering thermogenesis all the temperatures measured fell, and this was accompanied by onset of shivering. The same occurred in animals, 3–4 weeks of age, which had been reared in a warm environment (30°C), what has been formerly shown to lead to replacement of the brown fat by white fat. In the latter group shivering could be suppressed by moderate local rewarming of the cervical vertebral canal. Local heating of the lumbar vertebral canal and of the hypothalamus was less effective. It is concluded that shivering is suppressed in the newborn (and cold-acclimatized adult) mammal in that the temperature of thermosensitive structures in the area of the cervical vertebral canal is maintained above shivering threshold by the heat supplied from the interscapular and cervical brown adipose tissue.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literatur
Aherne, W., and D. Hull: The site of heat production in the newborn infant. Proc.roy. Soc. Med. 57, 1172–1173 (1964).
Benzinger, T. H.: The thermal homeostasis of man. Symp. Soc. exp. Biol. 18, 49–80 (1964).
Betz, E., K. Brück, H. Hensel, I. Jarai, and A. Malan: Heat production during local cooling of the hypothalamus in unanesthetized cats. In: Biometeorology, p. 675–680. Oxford, London, New York, Paris: Pergamon Press 1962.
Brück, K.: Temperature regulation in the newborn infant. Biol. Neonat. (Basel) 3, 65 (1961).
—, u. H. Hensel: Wärmedurchgang und Innentemperatur der menschlichen Extremitäten. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 257, 70–86 (1953).
—, u. B. Wünnenberg: Untersuchungen über die Modi der Thermogenese beim neugeborenen Meerschweinchen. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 282, 362–375 (1965a).
— Blockade der chemischen Thermogenese und Auslösung von Muskelzittern durch Adrenolytica und Ganglienblockade beim neugeborenen Meerschweinchen. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 282, 376–389 (1965b).
— Untersuchungen über die Bedeutung des multiloculären Fettgewebes für die Thermogenese des neugeborenen Meerschweinchens. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 283, 1–16 (1965c).
-- -- Der Einfluß der Aufzuchtstemperatur auf den Mechanismus der Thermogenese. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 283, R 37 (1965d).
-- -- The influence of ambient temperature in the process of replacement of non-shivering by shivering thermogenesis during postnatal development. Fed. Proc. (im Druck) (1966).
Burton, A. C., and D. W. Bronk: The motor mechanism of shivering and of thermal muscular tone. Amer. J. Physiol. 119, 284 (1937).
Dawkins, M. J. R., and D. Hull: Brown adipose tissue and the response of the newborn rabbit to cold. J. Physiol. (Lond). 172, 216–238 (1964).
—, and J. W. Scopes: Non-shivering thermogenesis and brown adipose tissue in the human newborn infant. Nature (Lond.) 206, 201 (1965).
Folkow, B., G. Ström, and B. Unväs: Cutaneous vasodilatation elicited by local heating of the anterior hypothalamus. Acta physiol. scand. 17, 317–326 (1949).
Hammel, H. T.: Neurons and temperature regulation. In: Physiological controls and regulations. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Comp. 1965.
Hart, J. S., O. Heroux, and F. Depocas: Cold acclimation and the electromyogram of unanesthetized rats. J. appl. Physiol. 9, 404–408 (1956).
Heim, T., and D. Hull: Blood flow in brown adipose tissue. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 181, 60–61 P (1965).
Hsieh, A. C. L., D. Carlson, and G. Gray: Role of the sympathetic nervous system in the control of chemical regulation of heat production. Amer. J. Physiol. 190, 247–251 (1957).
Hummler, H.: Untersuchungen über die Beziehung zwischen Sauerstoffverbrauch und Spannungsentwicklung am M. sartorius des Frosches bei elektrischer Reizung und unter dem Einfluß variierter extracellulärer Kalium-Konzentration. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 287, 224 (1966).
Kawamura, Y.: Neuromuscular organization of shivering. In: Neural aspects of temperature regulation. Arctic Aeromedical Lab., Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 1961.
Nakayama, T., H. T. Hammel, J. D. Hardy, and J. S. Eisenman: Thermal stimulation of electrical activity of single units of the preoptic region. Amer. J. Physiol. 204, 1122–1126 (1963).
Rautenberg, W., u. E. Simon: Die Beeinflussung des Kältezitterns durch lokale Temperaturänderung im Wirbelkanal. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 281, 332–345 (1964).
Simon, E., W. Rautenberg, R. Thauer u. M. Iriki: Die Auslösung von Kältezittern durch lokale Kühlung im Wirbelkanal. Pflügers Arch. ges. Physiol. 281, 309–331 (1964).
Smith, R. E., and J. C. Roberts: Thermogenesis of brown adipose tissue in cold-acclimated rats. Amer. J. Physiol. 206, 143–148 (1964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 184/3).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brück, K., Wünnenberg, W. Beziehung zwischen Thermogenese im „braunen“ Fettgewebe, Temperatur im cervicalen Anteil des Vertebralkanals und Kältezittern. Pflügers Archiv 290, 167–183 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00363694
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00363694