Effect of epinephrine and other lipolytic agents on intracellular lipolysis and lipoprotein lipase activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

3T3-L1 adipocytes were used to test the hypothesis that hormone-sensitive lipolysis and lipoprotein lipase activity might be regulated in a reciprocal manner. Intracellular lipolysis was stimulated by catecholamine, dibutyryl cAMP, and ACTH, but not by glucagon. The effects of epinephrine on lipolysis were blocked by the beta-antagonist propanolol but not by the alpha-antagonist phentolamine. Hormone-stimulated lipolysis was not changed by acute (45 min) or chronic (2 days) treatment of the cells with insulin whereas the latter treatment augmented lipoprotein lipase activity about fivefold. Epinephrine did not affect the lipoprotein lipase activity of insulin-stimulated cells. Withdrawal of glucose from the medium decreased lipoprotein lipase activity and the effect of epinephrine on lipolysis. Effects of lipolytic agents on activity of lipoprotein lipase were variable and concentration-dependent. Lipoprotein lipase activity was decreased only by concentrations of epinephrine greater than those inducing maximal intracellular lipolysis, and the decrease in activity occurred about 30 min after the increase in glycerol release. There seems to be no relationship between the level of activity of lipoprotein lipase and the maximal rate of hormone-stimulated lipolysis in 3T3-L1 cells. Unlike in adipose tissue and adipocytes of rats, hormone-stimulated lipolysis and lipoprotein lipase activity in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes appear to be regulated independently.