Proliferation and differentiation of unilocular fat cells in the bone marrow

Fat cells contribute not only to systemic lipid metabolism, but also to osteogenesis and hemopoiesis in the bone marrow. The present study represents the first attempt to culture mature unilocular fat cells of the bone marrow. Two methods devised in our laboratory were employed: one is the "ceiling culture method" that utilizes the floating property of the cells; the other, a three-dimensional collagen gel matrix culture that captures unilocular fat cells in the gel matrix. Using these methods, the proliferation of unilocular fat cells from the bovine metacarpal bone marrow was demonstrated. First, we confirmed the proliferative ability of unilocular fat cells derived from the bone marrow, using autoradiography to study 3H-thymidine incorporation into the nuclei. The unilocular fat cells de-differentiated into fibroblast-like fat cells and then proceeded to proliferate. When they underwent a contact inhibition of growth, re-differentiation from fibroblast-like fat cells into unilocular fat cells occurred at a high rate. A specific enzymatic marker of the fat cell, alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity related to lipogenesis, was then demonstrated in the cultured fat cells. We examined the functional reactivity of the fat cells by treatment with insulin and cyclic-AMP, and both lipogenesis and lipolysis were also confirmed in them. We concluded that unilocular fat cells from the bone marrow de-differentiated, proliferated and re-differentiated in culture. The present results may help to clarify the various functions of fat cells in the bone marrow.