A comparison of lipoprotein lipase activity and adipocyte differentiation in growing male rats.

During adipose tissue development changes in lipoprotein lipase activity per adipocyte precede significant changes in fat cell size. Lipoprotein lipase activity per adipocyte increases fourfold from the second to seventh postnatal week. Furthermore, when isolated adipocytes and stromal--vascular cells are prepared by collagenase digestion of adipose tissue, there is a progressive shift in enzyme activity during development from the stromal-vascular compartment to the adipocyte fraction. The data support the concept that during normal development a "bed" of preadipocytes is synthesized during the suckling period. The data further suggest a regulatory role for lipoprotein lipase in the control of "lipid-filling" during early postnatal development.