The effects of estrogens on regional adipose tissue cellularity in the rat.

The effects of high and low dose estrogen administration on adipose tissue cellularity and metabolism were investigated and compared with the effect of total starvation in female rats. Total starvation in female rats resulted in local fat cell size decrease which was, in different adipose tissue regions, directly proportional to the primary fat cell size. Thus, the largest fat cell size decrease was observed in the parametrial depot of adipose tissue, with primarily the smallest adipocytes. High doses of estrogen (Estradurin-120 mug/kg/month) resulted in a body and adipose tissue weight decrease after 10 weeks treatment. Contrary to the starvation effect the greatest fat cell size decrease was observed in the subcutaneous depot with primarily the smallest adipocytes. Lower estrogen dose (60 mug/kg/month) resulted, after 4 weeks treatment, in weight increase of adipose tissue. Fat cell size increased most in the parametrial depot-an adipose tissue region with primarily the biggest adipocytes. This is in contrast to the situation after insulin treatment and overfeeding which produce the largest size increase in the region with the smallest fat cells, and can be interpreted as evidence for regional specificity of the estrogen effect on fat cells.