Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Occurrence of “pockets” of very small cells in adipose tissue of the guinea pig

Abstract

THE concept of hyperplastic obesity, wherein the excessive number of cells in the adipose depots is thought to originate during overnutrition in early life, has evolved in the laboratories of Hirsch1, Salans2 and Björntorp3. The estimation of the number of adipose cells relies on (1) a measurement of total body fat and (2) a measure of the mean cell size. The two methods most commonly used for measurement of cell size are based on the microscopic examination of cells in a piece of fixed tissue4, or on sorting of cells in to size ranges by an electronic cell counter after dispersion of the tissue into a free cell suspension5.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hirsch, J., and Knittle, J. L., Fedn Proc., 29, 1516–1521 (1970).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Salans, L. B., Cushman, S. W., and Weismann, R. E., J. clin. Invest., 52, 929–941 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Björntorp, P., and Sjöström, L., Metabolism, 20, 703–713 (1971).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sjöström, L., Björntorp, P., and Vrána, J., J. Lipid Res., 12, 521–530 (1971).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hirsch, J., and Gallian, E., J. Lipid Res., 9, 110–119 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Lemmonier, D., J. clin. Invest., 51, 2907–2915 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ashwell, M. A., Priest, P., and Sowter, C., Nature, 256, 724–725 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

KIRTLAND, J., GURR, M., SAVILLE, G. et al. Occurrence of “pockets” of very small cells in adipose tissue of the guinea pig. Nature 256, 723–724 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/256723a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/256723a0

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing