Adipocytes
Cosmetic Surgery - Plastic Surgery - Aesthetic Medicine - Reconstructive Surgery
The fat is stored t in adipose tissue via specialized cells: adipocytes. Adipocytes are known as fat cells. Adipocytes are part of the energy reserves of a human body. There are two types of adipocytes: white adipocytes (white fat) and brown adipocytes (brown fat).
Adipocytes can store fat up to a certain cell size limit. Beyond this, adipocytes trigger the formation of a new storage cell, pre-adipocytes, which stores excess fat.
The adipocyte will eliminate lipids, mainly composed of triglycerides, from the blood. However, the adipocyte cannot directly assimilate these triglycerides; it will release an enzyme called lipase into the blood to separate the triglycerides into fatty acid and glycerol. These two elements pass into the adipocyte by endocytosis. Then inside the adipocyte triglycerides are rebuilt to be stored. This mechanism acts in reverse when triglycerides need to be released into the blood.
The number of fat cells will increase until about the age of 15, so we must be very attentive to children's diets during this time to avoid establishing a breeding ground for obesity.
Obesity can occur in three ways s: by enlarging of adipocytes (hypertrophic); by multiplying the number of adipocytes (hyperplasia) and by magnification and multiplication of adipocytes (combined obesity).