Morphological and metabolic alterations in adipose tissue of very old rats.
Body weight, epididymal adipose tissue weight, fat cell size, and metabolic activity of fat depot were studied in 30-month-old Wistar rats and compared with rats aged 6 and 24 months old. In very old age a significant reduction of body weight was observed and was paralleled with a decline of adipose mass and a decrease in cell volume. In vitro metabolic studies, with and without insulin, showed a greater oxidation of D-U-14C glucose to 14CO2 and a greater incorporation into triglycerides than in the 24-month-old animals when the data were expressed per cell or per cm2 surface area. The resistance to insulin was elevated in spite of a significant decrease of adipocyte size in very old rats.
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides; D005947:Glucose