Metabolic heat production and cold tolerance during cold stress of different intensity of adult and aged male C57BL/6J mice

Adult and aged male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a 3-h cold stress test at either 24°C, 18°C, 12°C, or 6°C. Body mass was measured before the test, and colonic temperature, O₂ consumption, and CO₂ production were measured during the test. The slopes of colonic temperature over time of test and the mean metabolic heat production were calculated for each animal. While adult mice had a relatively small reduction in colonic temperature during the test at all four ambient temperatures, in the aged mice ambient temperatures resulted in steeper reductions of colonic temperature. In adult mice, an increase in metabolic heat production was proportional to ambient cold. The thermogenic response of aged mice at 24°C and at 18°C was similar to adult mice, suggesting that the ability of aged mice to respond to cold by increasing heat production does not diminish with age. However, in aged mice metabolic heat production at 12°C and 6°C was significantly below that of adult mice, which indicated a reduced capacity for thermogenesis.