Hormonal
Aging causes preadipocytes to lose the capacity for proliferation and differentiation, leading to impaired lipid storage, increased susceptibility to lipotoxicity, and fat redistribution from subcutaneous to visceral/ectopic depots.
As you age, your body's ability to store fat safely in subcutaneous tissue declines, pushing it into dangerous visceral and organ areas. This is driven by cellular changes in fat progenitors, not just calories. Understanding this highlights the importance of maintaining metabolic health and potentially targeting inflammation, rather than just focusing on weight loss.
With aging, declines in preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation likely contribute to increased systemic exposure to lipotoxic free fatty acids.
Why this rating
It is a mini-review summarizing multiple studies, including in vitro and animal models, with some human data.
Source
Aging and Regional Differences in Fat Cell Progenitors – A Mini-Review
Anna Sepe et al. · Gerontology · 2010
DOI 10.1159/000279755
More from this paper
- Saturated fatty acids (specifically palmitate) induce lipotoxicity and inflammation in preadipocytes, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of cellular stress and metabolic dysfunction.Moderate
- Fat depot origin (subcutaneous vs. visceral/omental) determines inherent differences in preadipocyte function, with subcutaneous preadipocytes generally having a higher capacity for differentiation and lipid accumulation than omental preadipocytes.Moderate
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