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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Localization, Identification, and Excision of Murine Adipose Depots
08:53

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Published on: December 4, 2014

41.3K

Do Rats Have Epicardial Adipose Tissue?

Magdalena Kleszczewska1,2, Katarzyna Czarzasta1, Liana Puchalska1

  • 1Laboratory of Centre for Preclinical Research, Department of Experimental and Clinical Physiology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland.

Biomedicines
|July 29, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Rodents have limited epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) despite obesity studies. While rats possess some EAT, its small quantity and location make them unsuitable for EAT research.

Keywords:
epicardial adipose tissuefat depotsmodel organismsrodents

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Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Research
  • Obesity Studies
  • Adipose Tissue Biology

Background:

  • Rodents are common models for studying adipose tissue and obesity.
  • Significant anatomical differences exist between rodent and human visceral fat depots, particularly concerning cardiac fat.
  • Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in humans is crucial for cardiac research, but its presence and homology in rodents are debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and characteristics of adipose tissues in the heart area of Sprague Dawley rats.
  • To determine if a high-fat diet (HFD) influences the development of cardiac fat depots in rats.
  • To assess the suitability of rats as a model for studying human epicardial adipose tissue (EAT).

Main Methods:

  • 16 male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into standard diet (NFD) and high-fat diet (HFD) groups.
  • Dietary intervention started at 4 weeks of age, with assessments at 12 weeks.
  • Evaluated cardiac fat deposits, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, adipokine profiles, and systemic inflammation.

Main Results:

  • HFD induced significant metabolic disturbances, including hyperleptinemia.
  • HFD promoted pericardial fat accumulation, absent in NFD rats.
  • Rats possess EAT, but in very small numbers, limited to the atrioventricular groove, making quantitative assessment difficult.

Conclusions:

  • Rats are not entirely devoid of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT).
  • A high-fat diet increases pericardial fat but does not significantly alter the limited EAT presence.
  • The small quantity and specific location of EAT in rats limit their utility as a model for studying human EAT properties.