Aging is a risk factor for adipose tissue dysfunction, which is associated with inflammatory
innate immune mechanisms. Since the adipose tissue/liver axis contributes to hepatosteatosis, we
sought to determine age-related adipose tissue dysfunction in the context of the activation of the
innate immune system fostering fatty liver phenotypes. Using wildtype and immune-deficient
mice, we compared visceral adipose tissue and liver mass as well as hepatic lipid storage in young
(ca. 14 weeks) and adult (ca. 30 weeks) mice. Adipocyte size was determined as an indicator of
adipocyte function and liver steatosis was quantified by hepatic lipid content. Further, lipid storage
was investigated under normal and steatosis-inducing culture conditions in isolated hepatocytes. The
physiological age-related increase in body weight was associated with a disproportionate increase in
adipose tissue mass in immune-deficient mice, which coincided with higher triglyceride storage in
the liver. Lipid storage was similar in isolated hepatocytes from wildtype and immune-deficient mice
under normal culture conditions but was significantly higher in immune-deficient than in wildtype
hepatocytes under steatosis-inducing culture conditions. Immune-deficient mice also displayed
increased inflammatory, adipogenic, and lipogenic markers in serum and adipose tissue. Thus, the
age-related increase in body weight coincided with an increase in adipose tissue mass and hepatic
steatosis. In association with a (pro-)inflammatory milieu, aging thus promotes hepatosteatosis,
especially in immune-deficient mice.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:84611 |
| Date | 06 April 2023 |
| Creators | Winkler, Sandra, Hempel, Madlen, Hsu, Mei-Ju, Gericke, Martin, Kühne, Hagen, Brückner, Sandra, Erler, Silvio, Burkhardt, Ralph, Christ, Bruno |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English, German |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 2073-4409, 775 |
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