Effects of acute heat stress on lipid metabolism of bovine primary adipocytes.

Heat stress (HS) affects numerous physiological processes including nutrient partitioning and lipid metabolism. Objectives of this study were to evaluate how acute HS affects lipid metabolism in subcutaneous adipose tissue of dairy cattle. Adipose tissue biopsies were performed on Holstein cows for bovine primary adipocyte isolation and cultured at either 42°C (HS) or 37°C (thermal neutral, TN). Adipocytes were incubated with increasing isoproterenol (ISO), and with increasing concentrations of insulin in the presence of ISO to evaluate changes in lipolysis. Incorporation of radioactive acetate into lipids was measured as an indicator of lipogenesis. Abundance and phosphorylation of several lipolytic and lipogenic proteins were also measured. Adipocytes exposed to HS had an elevated maximal response to ISO and were more sensitive to lipolytic stimulation by ISO compared with cells cultured at TN. Thermal treatment did not affect the antilipolytic effects of insulin in the presence of ISO. Lipogenesis measured as acetate incorporation was not altered by HS, but a temperature by insulin interaction was observed for the regulation of acetyl CoA carboxylase, such that the presence of insulin resulted in a reduction in phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase in adipocytes cultured at TN but not HS conditions. Results of this study demonstrate that acute HS has a direct effect on the regulation of lipolysis and the rate-limiting enzyme of lipogenesis in isolated bovine adipocytes.

Regulation of lipid droplet-associated proteins following growth hormone administration and feed restriction in lactating Holstein cows.

Lipid metabolism plays a crucial role in the adaptation of dairy cows to periods of energy insufficiency. The objective of the current study was to determine if lipolytic proteins are consistently regulated when energy mobilization is stimulated by different factors. We evaluated 2 models of altered energy balance in mid-lactation Holstein cows, including feed restriction (FR) and administration of bovine growth hormone (GH), by quantifying the abundance and (or) phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), perilipin (PLIN), and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). For GH administration, adipose tissue and blood samples were collected 4d before and 3 and 7d after administration of GH (n=20 cows). Similarly, adipose and blood samples were obtained 6d before and 1 and 4d after initiation of FR (n=18 cows). Estimated net energy balance decreased and nonesterified fatty acid concentration increased in both experimental models. Decreased ATGL and PLIN protein abundance was observed with GH administration and FR. Additionally, the abundance of phosphorylated HSLSer565 decreased in both models. Decreased abundance of phosphorylated PLIN was observed with GH administration, but not FR. Decreased ATGL protein abundance appears to be a consistent response to energy insufficiency in lactating cows, as this response was also described with negative energy balance at the onset of lactation. In contrast, the abundance of PLIN protein and phosphorylation of HSL using antibodies targeting serine residue 565 of HSL (HSLSer565) were altered in the current research, but not at the onset of lactation. Our findings demonstrate that lipolysis is altered through the regulation of multiple proteins, and that this regulation differs according to physiological state in lactating cows.