Abstract: | There was a nil arginase and serine dehydratase activities in interscapular brown adipose tissue, but the activity of adenylate deaminase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase and the aspartate, alanine and branched chain amino acid transaminases was higher than those of white adipose tissue; the differences were diminished when expressed per unit of protein weight. Brown adipose tissue enzyme activities were in a range between those of liver and muscle. The high amino acid handling capabilities, together with its physiological role, suggest that brown adipose tissue can metabolize significant amounts of amino acids, its enzyme pattern being different both from white adipose tissue, as well as of liver and muscle. |