Answer to Question #166216 in Cell Biology for miji

Question

Fat cells have three adaptive characteristics to allow the storage of fat. Describe the three characteristics.

Answer 1

Fat cells have the ability to expand, that is hypertrophy to accommodate more fat in cases of high availability of fats in the body. These cells also have the ability, to a lesser degree, to increase in number that is hyperplasia. These cells also produce metabolism modulators, such as glycerol, hormones, macrophage stimulating chemokines, and pro-inflammatory cytokines that regulate conversion of glucose to fats and vice versa, and thus able to regulate amount of fats stored in them relative to the caloric intake.