Abstract
Experiments were carried out to elucidate the mechanism of triglyceride accumulation in epididymal adipose tissue of young and aged rats, with special reference to fat mobilization and deposition. In aged rats, the weight of the epididymal adipose tissue was 2, 000 per cent that of young rats, while adrenaline-induced lipolysis and lipase activity of the adipose tissue were 600 and 1, 600 per cent those of young rats, respectively. These results suggest that deposition of fat far exceeds fat mobilizing activity in the adipose tissue of aged rats. It was found that triglyceride synthesis from glucose and palmitate was higher in the adipose tissue of aged rats. Therefore, it is suggested that triglyceride deposition in the adipose tissue of aged rats may not be due to decrease in fat mobilization but to increase in triglyceride synthesis.
