Figure 3. Ghrelin receptor ablation attenuates age-associated decline of thermogenesis and enhances insulin signaling in BAT. (A) Energy expenditure of young, middle-aged and old WT and Ghsr−/− mice normalized by lean body mass. (B) Ghsr expression in BAT of young, middle-aged and old WT mice. (C) BAT mass and percentage of BAT weight over body weight in young, middle-aged and old WT and Ghsr−/− mice. (D) UCP1 expression in BAT of young, middle-aged and old WT and Ghsr−/− mice. IR (E) and IRS-1 (F) expression in BAT of young, middle-aged and old WT and Ghsr−/− mice. Young (4-months), middle-aged (10-months) and old (22-months) mice were used. N = 6-14. *p<0.05, **p<0.001, WT vs. Ghsr−/−; #p<0.05, ##p<0.001, old or middle-aged vs. young.