Computerized determination of adipocyte size.
OBJECTIVE
Fat cell size is a fundamental parameter in the study of adipose tissue metabolism, because it markedly influences the cellular rates of metabolism. Previous techniques for the sizing of adipocytes are often complicated or time-consuming. The aim of this study was to develop a new, computerized method for rapid and accurate determination of adipocyte size in a cell suspension obtained by incubating human or rat adipose tissue biopsies with collagenase.


METHODS
The cell suspension was placed between a siliconized glass slide and a cover slip. Using the reference method [designated as (R)], the cell diameters were determined manually using a microscope with a calibrated ocular. The new method presented here [designated as (C)] was based on computerized image analysis.


RESULTS
After two well-defined corrective adjustments, measurements with (R) and (C) agreed very well. The small remaining differences seemed, in fact, to depend on inconsistencies in (R).


CONCLUSIONS
We propose that (C) constitutes a valuable tool to study fat cell size, because this method is fast and allows the assessment of a sufficient number of cells to get reliable data on size distribution. Furthermore, images of cell preparations may be stored for future reference.
Björnheden
Tom
T
Department of Internal Medicine, Göteborg University, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
Jakubowicz
Bozena
B
Levin
Max
M
Odén
Birgitta
B
Edén
Staffan
S
Sjöström
Lars
L
Lönn
Malin
M
D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002469:Cell Separation; D048429:Cell Size; D003201:Computers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012984:Software; D014741:Video Recording