Interscapular brown adipose tissue blood flow in the rat. Determination with 133xenon clearance compared to the microsphere method.

The xenon clearance method was adapted to continuous measurement of interscapular brown adipose tissue (ISBAT) blood flow in anesthetized rats. The ISBAT-blood partition coefficient for xenon was determined to 3.6 ml X g-1. The blood flow values obtained by Xe clearance were compared with flow values obtained concomitantly by the microsphere technique in 17 cold acclimated rats, at ISBAT blood flows between 0.1 and 6 ml X g-1 X min-1. Variations in blood flows were obtained by infusion of noradrenaline at different rates. The blood flow values obtained from the xenon clearance method showed a close correlation to the blood flow values determined with microspheres. Y = 0.98. X + 0.15 (r = 0.96, P less than 0.001). The Xe clearance method has the advantages compared to the microsphere technique that it permits continuous monitoring of the blood flow and does not require the sacrifice of the animal.