| Adipocyte | |
|---|---|
 Illustration depicting white fat cells. | |
 Morphology of three different classes of adipocytes | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | adipocytus |
| MeSH | D017667 |
| TH | H2.00.03.0.01005 |
| FMA | 63880 |
| Anatomical terms of microanatomy | |
Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat.[1] Adipocytes are derived from mesenchymal stem cells which give rise to adipocytes through adipogenesis. In cell culture, adipocyte progenitors can also form osteoblasts, myocytes and other cell types.
There are two types of adipose tissue, white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT), which are also known as white and brown fat, respectively, and comprise two types of fat cells.
- ^ Birbrair A, Zhang T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Enikolopov GN, Mintz A, Delbono O (August 2013). "Role of pericytes in skeletal muscle regeneration and fat accumulation". Stem Cells and Development. 22 (16): 2298–2314. doi:10.1089/scd.2012.0647. PMC 3730538. PMID 23517218.