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Adipose tissue development: The role of precursor cells and adipogenic factors

Part I: Adipose tissue development and the role of precursor cells

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Summary

Obesity is regarded as a heterogeneous syndrome, which may appear in different forms. Various causes have been found to contribute to its pathogenesis. During recent years investigations of adipose tissue cellularity and its dynamic changes have gained growing interest. An important progress was the discovery of adipose tissue precursor cells. These cells have not yet been precisely identified by morphological and biochemical methods in intact tissue. However, due to methodological developments such precursor cells can be cultured both as primary cultures and as established cell lines. These culture systems have proven to be valuable models for the study of the processes involved in the formation of new fat cells.

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Abbreviations

cAMP:

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate

cDNA:

Complementary desoxyribonucleic acid

DHAP:

Dihydroxy-acetone phosphate

GPDH:

Glycero-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

IGF-I:

Insulin-like growth factor I

MIX:

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine

mRNA:

Messenger ribonucleic acid

TNF:

Tumor necrosis factor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung Innere Medizin I der Universitätsklinik Ulm, Germany

    H. Hauner

  2. Institut für Biochemie, Mikrobiologie und Genetik der Universität Regensburg, Germany

    G. Löffler

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  1. H. Hauner
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  2. G. Löffler
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Experiments carried out in the authors' laboratories and published in this review were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 43

Terms: A number of terms have been used to describe the process of adipocyte development. These are defined as follows [11]:

Adipoblast: the pluripotent mesenchymal stem cell of the adipose tissue, which at present is still putative and has not been identified biochemically and morphologically

Preadipocyte: the cell already committed or determined to become a fat cell with the ability to synthesize lipogenic enzymes and to store lipids; these cells may even contain small lipid droplets or become quickly filled with triglycerides

Adipocyte precursor cells: a precise distinction between adipoblast and preadipocyte is usually not possible and therefore this term is frequently used to describe both differentiation phases, particularly in primary culture

Adipocyte: a cell with a central large lipid vacuole, showing the characteristic signet-ring form, with high activities for enzymes of triglyceride synthesis and release

Determination or commitment: the irreversible recruitment of the pluripotent stem cell to a preadipocyte, which may be preceded by one or more cell divisions

Adipogenic conversion: the development of a preadipocyte to the morphological and biochemical appearance of an adipocyte by the expression of a genetic program

Adipogenic (adipose) differentiation: the continuous gradual development of an adipoblast to a mature fat cell

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Hauner, H., Löffler, G. Adipose tissue development: The role of precursor cells and adipogenic factors. Klin Wochenschr 65, 803–811 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01727474

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01727474

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