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Abstract
When cells of the established preadipose line 3T3-L1 enter a resting state, they accumulate
triglyceride and convert to adipose cells. The adipose conversion is brought about
by a large increase in the rate of triglyceride synthesis, as measured by the incorporation
rate of labeled palmitate, acetate, and glucose. In a resting 3T3 subline which dose
not undergo the adipose conversion, the rate of triglyceride synthesis from these
precursors is very low, and similar to that of growing 3T3-L1 cells, before their
adipose conversion begins. If 3T3-L1 cells incorporate bromodeoxyuridine during growth,
triglyceride synthesis does not increase when the cells reach a stationary state,
and triglycerides do not accumulate. As would be expected from their known actions
on tissue adipose cells, lipogenic and lipolytic hormones and drugs affect the rate
of synthesis and accumulation of triglyceride by 3T3-L1 cells, but in contrast to
bromodeoxyuridine, these modulating agents do not seem to affect the proportion of
cells which undergoes the adipose conversion. Insulin markedly increases the rate
of synthesis and accumulation of triglyceride by fatty 3T3-L1 cells, and produces
a related increase in cell protein content. Of 20 randomly selected clones isolated
from the original 3T3 stock, 19 are able to convert to adipose cells. The probability
of such a conversion varies greatly among the different clones, in most cases being
much lower than for 3T3-L1; but once the conversion takes place, the adipose cells
produced from all of the 19 clones appear similar. The adipose conversion would seem
to depend on an on-off switch, which is on with a different probability in different
clones. This probability is quasistably inherited by the clonal progeny.