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Hyposomatotropism Blunts Lipolysis in Abdominally Obese Women

Department of General Internal Medicine (M.M.B., J.G.L., M.F., A.E.M., H.P.), Centre for Human Drug Research (J.B., R.C.S., A.F.C.), Department of Nuclear Medicine (J.-W.A.), and Department of Endocrinology (J.A.R.), Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands; and Department of Clinical Chemistry (M.T.A.), Laboratory of Endocrinology and Radiochemistry, and Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism (H.P.S.), Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam 1100 DD, The Netherlands

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Madelon M. Buijs, Department of General Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Centre, C1-R39, P.O Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. E-mail: . m.m.buijs{at}lumc.nl

Abstract

Abdominal obesity is associated with reduced 24-h plasma GH concentrations. It is unclear whether hyposomatotropism in abdominally obese humans is compensated by up-regulation of GH receptor sensitivity or causes less biological effect in target tissues. We, therefore, determined the responsiveness of adipose tissue to the lipolytic action of GH in abdominally obese (OB) and normal weight (NW) postmenopausal women.

An iv bolus of recombinant human GH or placebo was randomly administered to eight NW [body mass index (BMI): 22.2 ± 1.6 kg/m²] and eight abdominally OB (BMI: 32.1 ± 2.6 kg/m²) women. Lipolysis was measured by infusion of D5-glycerol and modeled as a function of plasma GH concentrations to describe adipose tissue responsiveness.

Similar plasma GH concentration peaks (20 mU/liter) were achieved by GH injection in both groups. During placebo conditions, the average plasma GH level was significantly lower in OB compared with NW women (0.74 ± 0.52 vs. 2.08 ± 1.18 mU/liter, P = 0.023). Adipose tissue responsiveness, expressed as glycerol rate of appearance per kilogram of fat mass per unit plasma GH concentration was not different in both groups (NW: 1.06, OB: 0.68, P > 0.05).

These results suggest that hyposomatotropism in abdominally obese individuals is not compensated by increased adipose tissue responsiveness to GH bio-action and, therefore, blunts lipolysis in these individuals.

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