Aging In Adipocytes Potential Impact Of Inherent, DepotSpecific.pdfVIP

NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Exp Gerontol . Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 June 1. N Published in final edited form as: I H Exp Gerontol . 2007 June ; 42(6): 463–471. - P A A Aging In Adipocytes: Potential Impact Of Inherent, Depot-Specific u t h Mechanisms o r M a * Mark J. Cartwright, Tamara Tchkonia, and James L. Kirkland n u Department of Medicine, Section of Geriatrics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. s c r i p Abstract t Fat mass and tissue distribution change dramatically throughout life. Fat depot sizes reach a peak by middle or early old age, followed by a substantial decline, together with fat tissue dysfunction and redistribution in advanced old age. These changes are associated with health complications, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, thermal dysregulation, and skin ulcers, particularly in advanced old age. Fat tissue growth occurs through increases in size and number of fat cells. Fat cells turn over throughout the lifespan, with new fat cells developing from preadipocytes, which are of N I mesenchymal origin. The pool of preadipocytes comprises 15 to 50% of the cells in fat tissue. Since H - fat tissue turns over throughout life, characteristics of these cells very likely have a significant impact P A on fat tissue growth, plasticity, function, and distribution. The aims of this review are to highlight A recent findings regarding changes in preadipocyte cell dynamics and function with agi