Thyroid hormone regulates lipogenesis differently in rat liver and brown adipose tissue (BAT). In the hypothyroid state, lipogenesis is suppressed in liver but enhanced in BAT. Here we investigated the mechanisms underlying increased lipogenesis in hypothyroid BAT. Housing the animals at 28 degrees C decreased lipogenesis in hypothyroid BAT to euthyroid levels. Denervation resulted in a 90% reduction in lipogenesis in hypothyroid BAT such that levels were lower than in euthyroid tissue. Thyroid hormone treatment of hypothyroid rats stimulated fatty acid synthesis in denervated BAT, as in liver, but decreased it in intact BAT. Steady-state levels of mRNA encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty-acid synthase, and spor 14 were measured in similar animals by Northern analysis. The expression of these mRNAs mirrored the lipogenic data, showing that both thyroid hormone and the sympathetic nervous system work at a pretranslational level in this tissue. These data suggest that the increased BAT lipogenesis found with hypothyroidism is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system to counter the reduction in metabolic rate in these animals.