Smoking and Adipose Tissue Lipoprotein Lipase

Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity was measured in eight non-smokers and 17 smokers on fasting and four hours after oral glucose load. Fasting LPL activity was higher in the smokers when corrected for cell weight. Four hours post oral glucose load, a two fold increase in enzyme activity in the non-smoking subjects was observed while in the smokers, a 30% reduction occurred. The degree of reduction of adipose tissue LPL activity negatively correlated with the insulin release in response to the oral glucose. It is suggested that the reduction in adipose tissue LPL activity after oral glucose accounts for the reduced body weight observed in smokers. This reduction reflects a relative insulin resistance of smokers’ adipose tissue. The later may be developed due to the known increase in catecholamine in smokers.