AJP - Cell Physiology, Vol 258, Issue 2 C206-C210, Copyright © 1990 by American Physiological Society
Age, anatomic site, and the replication and differentiation of adipocyte precursors
J. L. Kirkland, C. H. Hollenberg and W. S. Gillon
Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The effects of donor age and anatomic site on cellular replication and
differentiation were studied in adipocyte precursors cloned from epididymal
and perirenal depots of young, middle-aged, and senescent rats. As animals
aged from 3 to 29 mo, there was a progressive reduction in the proportion
of cells capable of extensive replication in both depots. An inverse
relation between clonal capacity for replication and differentiation was
found. This relation was affected by donor site but not age. Aging was,
however, associated with a reduction in the frequency of clones capable of
full differentiation into cells with single, large, central lipid
inclusions. Hence, age and donor site may affect adipocyte precursor
replication and differentiation by different mechanisms.
