AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 254, Issue 5 740-R745, Copyright © 1988 by American Physiological Society
Morphology and cell dynamics of adipose tissue in hypothalamic obese mice
M. Ochi, T. Sawada, T. Kusunoki and T. Hattori
Department of Pediatrics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
Morphological and cell kinetic characteristics of the epididymal adipose
tissue of obese mice, induced by monosodium glutamate (MSG), were examined
in comparison to those of normal mice. Mice treated with MSG for 5
postnatal days became obese after 8 wk of age; adipocytes of the
MSG-treated mice were larger than those of normal mice. Heterogeneity was
noted in components of the adipose tissue in the obese mice after 24 wk;
various-sized adipocytes appeared, and the connective tissue elements
increased; necrosis of adipocytes was observed by 36 wk; and mononuclear
cells and macrophages infiltrated around the necrotic adipocytes. Such
changes were not seen in normal mice. Autoradiographic study with
continuous and pulse labeling with [3H]thymidine showed that half the fat
cells were replaced in 150-200 days in normal mice and that the turnover
rate of adipocytes was more rapid in the obese mice than in the normal
mice. In the obese mice, cell death and cell renewal were found to occur
more actively.
