title: Accumulation capacity of primary cultures of adipocytes for PCB-126: influence of cell differentiation stage and triglyceride levels.
abstract: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are lipophilic persistent organic chemicals that accumulate at high concentrations in the adipose tissue. Recent studies correlate the presence of such contaminants in fat cells to possible alterations in the regulation of energy homeostasis in adipocytes. As the adipose tissue is composed of adipocytes at several stages of differentiation, it is possible that PCBs already accumulate in cells at an early stage, and thereby impair their development. The exact driving force enabling the massive accumulation of PCBs in fat cells remains unclear. The present study investigated the time-course incorporation of (3)H-PCB-126 in primary cultures of rat adipocytes at both early and late differentiation stages and showed that the accumulation of this congener was already significant at an early stage of differentiation. In addition, triglyceride levels in cells were an important parameter governing (3)H-PCB-126's entry. The extent of adipocyte ability to store this pollutant in vitro was also evaluated and revealed that fat cells were able to accumulate (3)H-PCB-126 at extremely high concentrations. A linear relationship was observed between the amount of (3)H-PCB-126 added to the medium and the one accumulated in the cells, which favors a passive diffusion mechanism for the entry of this pollutant into fat cells.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de la Vie, UCLouvain, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bourez
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joly
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covaci
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Remacle
authors.forename: Yvan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Larondelle
authors.forename: Yves-Jacques
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Debier
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004058:Diffusion; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism*; D014316:Tritium
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D014316:Tritium; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; C023035:3,4,5,3',4'-pentachlorobiphenyl