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  • Original Article
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Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of abdominal adipose tissues in women

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages 283–291 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To examine the expression of selected transcription factors involved in adipogenesis and genes related to lipid metabolism in abdominal subcutaneous and omental fat tissue.

Research design and methods:

We obtained subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue samples from 40 women undergoing abdominal hysterectomies (age: 47±5 years; BMI 27.9±5.3 kg/m2). We measured isolated adipocyte size and metabolism, and detailed measures of body fat accumulation and body fat distribution were obtained (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography, respectively).

Results:

Adipocyte size of both subcutaneous and omental fat were increased with higher body fat mass values, with similar regression slopes in each compartment. In contrast, with higher body fat mass values, fat accumulation was progressively higher in the subcutaneous than in the visceral fat compartment, suggesting hyperplasia in the subcutaneous fat compartment. Messenger RNA levels of CEBPα, PPARγ2, SREBP1c and genes related to lipid metabolism (LPL, FABP4, DGAT1, DGAT2, PLIN and HSL) were significantly higher in subcutaneous than in omental fat tissue (P⩽0.001 for all). Only subcutaneous expression of these genes tracked with obesity levels as reflected by significant positive associations between subcutaneous fat CEBPα, SREBP1c and DGAT2 expression and total body fat mass (r=0.37, r=0.41, r=0.57, respectively, P⩽0,05), fat percentage (r=0.40, r=0.39, r=058, respectively, P⩽0,05) and subcutaneous adipose tissue area (r=0.36, r=0.38, r=0.58, respectively, P⩽0,05). Omental adipose tissue expression levels of these genes were not significantly related to adiposity measures.

Conclusions:

These results show that in obese women, hyperplasia is predominant in the subcutaneous fat depot, whereas fat cell hypertrophy is observed both in the omental and subcutaneous compartments.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by operating funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—Institute of Gender and Health to André Tchernof (MOP-64182). The contribution of Drs Pierre Dupont, Marleen Daris, Philippe Laberge, Suzanne Noël, Jacques Morency, Denis Légaré, Céline Bouchard and Johanne Hurtubise is gratefully acknowledged. We acknowledge the invaluable help of nurses from the outpatient care unit and of radiology technicians. Expression measurements were performed by the Gene Quantification core laboratory of the Centre de Génomique de Québec. We thank all women who participated in the study for their excellent collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Endocrinology and Oncology Research Center, Laval University Medical Research Center and Laval University, Québec, PQ, Canada

    R Drolet, C Richard & A Tchernof

  2. Mike Rosenbloom Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, PQ, Canada

    A D Sniderman

  3. Gynecology Unit, Laval University Medical Research Center and Laval University, Québec, PQ, Canada

    J Mailloux, M Fortier, C Huot & C Rhéaume

  4. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Laval University Medical Research Center and Laval University, Québec, PQ, Canada

    A Tchernof

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  1. R Drolet
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Correspondence to A Tchernof.

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Drolet, R., Richard, C., Sniderman, A. et al. Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of abdominal adipose tissues in women. Int J Obes 32, 283–291 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803708

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