AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 247, Issue 1 46-R51, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Adipocyte blood flow: influence of age, anatomic location, and dietary manipulation
D. L. Crandall, B. M. Goldstein, F. Huggins and P. Cervoni
Adipocyte blood flow in four distinct adipose tissue depots has been
measured in conscious, unrestrained, male Sprague-Dawley rats by using the
microsphere technique together with cellularity determinations. Blood flow
was determined in young rats (90 days old, 387 g mean body wt),
spontaneously obese rats (450 days old, 713 g mean body wt), and long-term
calorically restricted rats (450 days old, 390 g mean body wt), therefore
allowing the comparison of the relative effects of age and fat mass on
adipose tissue blood flow. Results of these experiments indicate that while
cardiac index remained constant, cardiac output increased in only the obese
group, concomitant with increased body fat mass. Spontaneously obese rats
exhibited increased adipose tissue depot weight, fat cell lipid, and fat
cell size compared with young and restricted groups. Despite significant
differences in cell volume, blood flow per cell was remarkably similar
between young and obese rats. Long-term caloric restriction, however, was
associated with decreased flow per cell. Interdepot comparisons of flow per
unit surface area (mm2) or per unit volume (pl) indicate that mesenteric
cells receive significantly more blood than cells of the other depots. Our
results suggest that adipocyte blood flow is dependent in part on anatomic
location, may be further influenced by age or dietary manipulation, and is
not a limiting factor in the enlargement of adipocytes during the
development of spontaneous obesity.
