PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bachman, Eric S.
AU  - Dhillon, Harveen
AU  - Zhang, Chen-Yu
AU  - Cinti, Saverio
AU  - Bianco, Antonio C.
AU  - Kobilka, Brian K.
AU  - Lowell, Bradford B.
TI  - βAR Signaling Required for Diet-Induced Thermogenesis and Obesity Resistance
AID  - 10.1126/science.1073160
DP  - 2002 Aug 02
TA  - Science
PG  - 843--845
VI  - 297
IP  - 5582
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/297/5582/843.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/297/5582/843.full
SO  - Science2002 Aug 02; 297
AB  - Excessive caloric intake is thought to be sensed by the brain, which then activates thermogenesis as a means of preventing obesity. The sympathetic nervous system, through β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) action on target tissues, is likely the efferent arm of this homeostatic mechanism. To test this hypothesis, we created mice that lack the three known βARs (β-less mice). β-less mice on a Chow diet had a reduced metabolic rate and were slightly obese. On a high-fat diet, β-less mice, in contrast to wild-type mice, developed massive obesity that was due entirely to a failure of diet-induced thermogenesis. These findings establish that βARs are necessary for diet-induced thermogenesis and that this efferent pathway plays a critical role in the body's defense against diet-induced obesity.