The contribution of a fat cell pool to adipose tissue cellularity.

The possible role of fat cell precursor differentiation and contribution to total adipose cellularity in the genetically obese Zucker fa/fa and non-obese Fa/-rat is reported. The study demonstrates that there is no difference in adipocyte precursor growth characteristics under normal culture conditions between genotypes. However, it is shown that there is a significantly larger fat cell pool maintained in the adult fa/fa epididymal adipose tissue, when compared to their lean littermates. The question as to the identity of the adipocyte precursor in the fat cell pool is addressed.