Influence of hypocaloric diet on alpha-adrenergic responsiveness of obese human subcutaneous adipocytes.

Spontaneous and stimulated lipolytic activity of subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes from obese subjects treated by a hypocaloric diet (800-1000 kcal/d) for 13-15 d were studied. A strong increase in basal lipolytic activity of the adipocytes occurred after the restrictive diet treatment. Linked to this phenomenon, an important alpha-adrenergic antilipolytic effect of adrenaline appeared whereas, the beta-stimulating effect of isoproterenol (beta-adrenomimetic drug) was not affected.