Structural and histochemical aspects of perirenal adipose tissue in fetal pigs: relationships between stromal-vascular characteristics and fat cell concentration and enzyme activity.

Abstract

Samples of perirenal adipose tissue were obtained from four fetuses from each of seven crossbred gilts at each of three stages of gestation: 70, 90, and 110 days. Samples were routinely prepared for histochemistry and histology. At each age, the largest fat cell clusters were consistently located near points where large blood vessels entered the loose connective tissue. Cell-cluster size decreased with distance from the entry points of large blood vessels. Fat cells proximal to entry points of large arterioles and fat cells distal to entry points of large arterioles were the same size. Enzyme cytochemistry disclosed that reactions for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and NADH-TR enzymes were reduced in distal (relative to entry points of large arterioles) adipocytes compared with proximal adipocytes. Reactions for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in adipocytes were not influenced by location within the tissue. Small fat cell clusters with sparse capillary beds surround arterioles in distal areas of sections from fetuses at 70, 90, and 110 days of gestation. In the proximal areas of sections from 110-day-old fetuses, arterioles were surrounded by large fat cell clusters with dense capillary beds. These characteristics serve to distinguish perirenal depots from subcutaneous depots in the fetus.