Research
Hormonal
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.
Where fat is stored matters. Subcutaneous fat (under the skin) tends to be healthier and more functional than visceral fat (around organs), which is more prone to dysfunction and inflammation, especially with age.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
We found human abdominal subcutaneous preadipocytes had the highest capacity to differentiate... Mesenteric preadipocytes from the same subjects had intermediate capacity for adipogenesis and omental cells had the lowest.
Why this rating
Based on human studies cited in the review.
Source
Aging and Regional Differences in Fat Cell Progenitors – A Mini-Review
Anna Sepe et al. · Gerontology · 2010
DOI 10.1159/000279755
narrative_reviewCited 238×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- 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.Moderate
- Saturated fatty acids (specifically palmitate) induce lipotoxicity and inflammation in preadipocytes, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of cellular stress and metabolic dysfunction.Moderate
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