Table 1.
Cellularity of retroperitoneal (RP) adipose tissue in rats fed a low- or high-fat diet supplemented with or without l-arginine.
| Variables | Low fat | High fat | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alanine | Arginine | Alanine | Arginine | Diet | AA | Diet × AA | |
| Adipocyte size (µm) | 90.4 ± 1.9 | 77.1 ± 3.1 | 99.9 ± 2.8 | 92.7 ± 2.5 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.26 |
| Total adipocytes/fat pad (106 cells) | 15.6 ± 1.6 | 14.4 ± 0.7 | 17.2 ± 0.9 | 15.1 ± 1.1 | 0.33 | 0.14 | 0.70 |
| Adipocyte density (106 cells/g tissue) |
2.13 ± 0.16 | 3.27 ± 0.27 | 1.62 ± 0.11 | 2.05 ± 0.14 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.22 |
Between 4 and 19 weeks of age, rats were fed low- and high-fat diets, respectively. Thereafter, rats in each dietary group received drinking water containing either 1.51% l-arginine·HCl or 2.55% l-alanine (isonitrogenous control) for 12 weeks. At the end of the feeding experiment, RP adipose tissue was dissected and adipocytes were isolated using an enzymatic method. Data are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 8/treatment group). P values are shown for diet effect, AA effect, and their interaction.
AA: amino acid.