New scanning electron microscopic method for determination of adipocyte size in humans and mice

To evaluate a new scanning electronic microscopic (EM) method for assessing fat cell sizes and compare fat cell size distribution in human adipose tissue from different fat depots before and after weight loss.

Identical human fat tissue biopsies were separated into two fractions: one used to prepare a fat cell suspension by collagenase digestion followed by photomicrography (collagenase method) and the other fixed in formalin for EM analysis. The EM method was evaluated further by determining fat cell sizes from lean and ob/ob mice. Finally, the EM method was used to assess fat cell sizes in biopsies of different human depots from before and after weight loss.

Fat cell size distributions measured by the two methods were not identical, but differences were generally small. The EM method reproduced the well-documented fat cell size difference between lean and ob/ob mice. Large variation was detected in fat cell distributions among three depots in humans. Weight loss reduced fat cell sizes in subjects with large baseline fat cells but had no effect in subjects with small baseline fat cell sizes.

Our results suggest that the EM method may be a useful alternative for fat cell size analysis of clinical samples.