Alcohol dehydrogenase activity in mouse brown adipose tissue.

The present work provides evidence for the occurrence of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in very minute concentration in mice brown adipose tissue (BAT). Mice consuming 10% ethanol for 10 days showed significantly lowered enzyme activity in brown fat while liver ADH activity was increased but not significantly. Measurements of basal and norepinephrine stimulated oxygen consumption of isolated brown adipocytes indicated that the presence of ADH in BAT of mice is unlikely to play any role in ethanol oxidation.