title: Quantitative image analysis in adipose tissue using an automated image analysis system: differential effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and -gamma agonist on white and brown adipose tissue morphology in AKR obese and db/db diabetic mice.
abstract: Morphometric analysis of adipocytes is widely used to demonstrate the effects of antiobesity drugs or anti-diabetic drugs on adipose tissues. However, adipocyte morphometry has been quantitatively performed by manual object extraction using conventional image analysis systems. The authors have developed an automated quantitative image analysis method for adipose tissues using an innovative object-based quantitative image analysis system (eCognition). Using this system, it has been shown quantitatively that morphological features of adipose tissues of mice treated with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists differ dramatically depending on the type of PPAR agonist. Marked alteration of morphological characteristics of brown adipose tissue (BAT) treated with GI259578A, a PPAR-alpha agonist, was observed in AKR/J (AKR) obese mice. Furthermore, there was a 22.8% decrease in the mean size of adipocytes in white adipose tissue (WAT) compared with vehicle. In diabetic db/db mice, the PPAR-gamma agonist GW347845X decreased the mean size of adipocytes in WAT by 15.4% compared with vehicle. In contrast to changes in WAT, GW347845X increased the mean size of adipocytes in BAT greatly by 96.1% compared with vehicle. These findings suggest that GI259578A may activate fatty acid oxidation in BAT and that GW347845X may cause adipocyte differentiation in WAT and enhancement of lipid storage in BAT.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Department, Tsukuba Research Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Wadai, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Higashiyama
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanematsu
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asano
mesh_terms: D052437:Adipocytes, Brown / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D052438:Adipocytes, White / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000473:pathology*; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008820:Mice, Obese; D009765:Obesity / Q000473:pathology*; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000819:agonists*; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000819:agonists*
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D047493:PPAR alpha; D047495:PPAR gamma