Levels of noradrenaline in plasma during thermogenesis induced by cold-exposure or by noradrenaline infusion in warm- and in cold-acclimated rats.

Oxygen consumption and concentration of noradrenaline (NA) in arterial plasma have been measured in warm-acclimated (WA) and in cold-acclimated (CA) rats during exposure to cold and in barbital-sedated WA or CA rats receiving intravenous infusions of NA at various doses at room temperature. In WA and in CA rats in the cold, NA in plasma increased rapidly from a resting level of 0.1 to 0.2 ng/ml at thermoneutrality to values 5 to 10 times greater at -19 degrees C. The increases were directly related to the degree of cold exposure and were maintained throughout exposure. In barbital-sedated WA or CA rats infused with NA the plasma levels of NA which stimulated calorigenesis were approximately 10 times greater than those resulting from overflow of NA into the blood during intense cold exposure and were in the range found by others to be effective in stimulating O2 consumption in isolated brown adipocytes.