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. 2017 Apr 4;16:44. doi: 10.1186/s12933-017-0528-4

Table 1.

Differences and similarities between the various adipose tissue depots

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Body location Gluteofemoral, subcutaneous and VAT Inguinal and neck Suprarenal, paravertebral and supraclavicular
Morphology Big size and with a single LD Intermediate size and with multiple LD Variable size, vascularized and with multiple small LD
Mitochondria + ++ +++
Function Energy storage Adaptive thermogenesis (UCP-1) Non-shivering thermogenesis and energy dissipation
Obesogenity and diabetogenity Positive Negative Negative

Body fat is stored as WAT, bAT or BAT. These depots can be distinguished by their location, size, mitochondria content, and function, playing diverse roles in obesity and T2D. Importantly, WAT could be browned to bAT and BAT by several approaches. LD stands for lipid droplet(s)