Recent studies have found that angiotensinogen is expressed in white and brown fat pads, and adipocytes have been implicated as a primary source of angiotensinogen in several other tissues. The functional significance of this unexpected expression is unknown. To address this, we studied angiotensinogen messenger RNA (mRNA) expression and angiotensinogen secretion in adipose tissue and isolated adipocytes comparing fasted and refed rodents and those with genetic obesity with normal controls. Control 2-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats, those fasted for 3 days, or those fasted for 2 days and refed for 6 days were killed, and adipocytes were isolated from epididymal fat pads using collagenase digestion. Angiotensinogen mRNA was reduced to 14.6 +/- 2.3% of control levels under fasted conditions and increased to 228 +/- 53% of control levels after refeeding. Angiotensinogen release from adipocytes was reduced to 33% of control levels by fasting and increased to 183% by refeeding. These effects of fasting and refeeding on angiotensinogen regulation were tissue specific since liver angiotensinogen mRNA and serum angiotensinogen concentrations were unaffected. Systolic blood pressure, however, was modulated by fasting and refeeding in a manner parallel to adipocyte angiotensinogen expression. In related experiments, angiotensinogen secretion per epididymal fat pad of the ob/ob mouse model of obesity was increased an average of 3.4-fold compared with control. We conclude angiotensinogen expression in white adipocytes is regulated nutritionally in a tissue-specific manner. We propose that adipocyte angiotensinogen could play a previously unrecognized role in regulating adipose tissue blood supply and thereby fatty acid efflux from fat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)