Standard housing temperature but not β3-adrenoreceptor agonism drives weight-gain and adipose tissue deposition in rats following diet induced obesity at thermoneutrality

Background and aim: Rodents are commonly housed below thermoneutrality and this exposure to cold (i.e. 20°C) activates thermogenic brown (BAT) and beiging of white adipose tissue. Here, we examined whether a standard housing temperature (i.e. 20°C, a reduction in temperature of ~8°C) or YM-178, a highly-selective β-adrenoreceptor agonist, in obese animals raised at thermoneutrality, would impact differently on classical BAT or subcutaneous inguinal (IWAT) beige depots. Methods: Eighteen weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were housed at thermoneutrality (28°C) and fed a high-fat diet. At 12 weeks, 6 animals were randomised to either standard housing temperature (20°C, n=6) or to β3-AR agonist administration (28°C+β, 0.75mg/kg/d, n=6) for 4 weeks. Metabolic assessment was undertaken during the final 48h, followed by interscapular, perivascular BAT and IWAT sampling for the analysis of thermogenic genes and the proteome. Results: Exposure to 20°C increased weight gain, BAT and IWAT mass. Proteomic analysis of BAT revealed novel pathways associated with cold-induced weight gain (i.e. histone deacetylation, glycosaminoglycan degradation and glycosphingolipid biosynthesis) whilst β3-adrenoreceptor agonism impacted on proteins involved in skeletal muscle contraction and cell differentiation. IWAT of cold-exposed animals exhibited an enrichment of proteins involved NAD+ binding, plus retinol and tyrosine metabolic pathways whilst β3-AR agonism downregulated ribosomal and upregulated acute phase response proteins. Conclusion: Following diet-induced obesity at thermoneutrality, exposure to 20°C promotes subcutaneous fat deposition in order to reduce heat loss and defend body temperature. In contrast, chronic administration of β3-AR agonist has minimal metabolic-related effects on adipose tissue.