Table 1.
Characteristics of different kinds of adipocytes.
| White adipocytes | Brown adipocytes | Beige adipocytes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Subcutaneous and visceral | Interscapular (infants) | WAT depots |
| supraclavicular, cervical (adults) | (mainly in inguinal) | ||
| Morphology | Unilocular lipid droplets | Multilocular lipid droplets | |
| Few mitochondria | Abundant mitochondria | ||
| Abundant lipid storage | A few lipid storage | ||
| Lineage | Multiple lineage | Myogenic lineage | Multiple lineage |
| (PDGFRα+) | (Myf5+) | (PDGFRα+) | |
| Genetic | UCP1- | UCP1+ | UCP1+ (activated) |
| Functions | Store and release energy | Adaptive thermogenesis | dissipate energy into heat upon stimulation |