ADIPOSE TISSUE
- Brown adipocytes contain many small
WHITE ADIPOSE TISSUE
- They are specialized for relatively long-
term energy storage.
- white adipocyte is very large, between
50 and 150 μm in diameter, and
contains a single huge droplet of lipid
filling almost the entire cell
- white adipocytes are also called
unilocular
- The cells are sometimes said to have a
signet-ring appearance, with the lipid
droplet displacing and flattening the
nucleus against the cell membrane.
Storage & Mobilization of Lipids
- Dietary fats brought to the cells via the
circulation as chylomicrons
- Lipids synthesized in the liver and
transported in blood with very low-
density lipoproteins (VLDLs)
- Free fatty acids and glycerol
synthesized by the adipocytes
- Fatty acids are released from white
adipocytes by lipase activity when
nutrients are needed and carried
throughout the body on plasma
proteins such as albumin
- Leptin is a polypeptide hormone with
target cells in the hypothalamus that is
released from white adipocytes and
helps regulate eating behavior
Histogeneis of white adipose tissue
- white adipocytes develop together with
a smaller population of cells termed
beige adipocytes, which remain within
white adipose tissue and have
histological and metabolic features
generally intermediate between white
and brown adipocytes.
- With adaptation to cold temperatures
beige adipocytes change reversibly,
forming many more small lipid droplets,
adopting a gene expression profile more
like that of brown fat, and begin to
release heat.
BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE
lipid inclusions and are therefore called
multilocular.
- The small lipid droplets, abundant
mitochondria, and rich vasculature all
help mediate this tissue’s principal
function of heat production and
warming the blood.
- The main function of these multilocular
adipose cells is to produce heat by
nonshivering thermogenesis.
- Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) or
thermogenin- permits the flow of
protons from the intermembranous
space to the matrix without passing
through ATP synthetase complexes.
Instead of producing ATP, the energy
associated with this proton flow
dissipates as heat
Histogenesis of Brown Adipose Tissue
- Brown adipose tissue also develops
from mesenchyme, but involves
preadipocytes in a different embryonic
location (paraxial) from those producing
white adipose tissue
- The number of brown adipocytes
increases during cold adaptation,
usually appearing as clusters of
multilocular cells in white adipose
tissue
- Besides stimulating thermogenic
activity, autonomic nerves also promote
brown adipocyte differentiation and
prevent apoptosis in mature brown fat
cells