Hyperplasia of Fat-Containing Cells With Mature Adipocyte Marker Is Associated With Pancreatic Fat Enlargement.

Objectives: To elucidate the specific characteristics of fat-containing cells in the pancreas and the mechanism of intrapancreatic fat deposition in humans.

Materials and methods: Fifteen Japanese patients who had undergone pancreatic resection were enrolled, and the normal region from each samples was examined. Immunostaining for adiponectin and perilipin 1 was performed, and the relationships between the pancreatic fat-cell area or clinical parameters and the density or the diameter of the fat cells were analyzed.

Results: The expression of adiponectin in the cytoplasm and perilipin 1 along the plasma membrane was observed in fat-containing cells in the pancreas. The fat-containing cell area had a significant positive correlation with cell density. In addition, fat-containing cell density was significantly positively correlated with homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance. The diameter of fat-containing cells had significant positive correlations with BMI, fasting immunoreactive insulin, and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance. Of all fat-containing cells, 10.4% were intralobular cells, and the diameter of intralobular cells showed a tendency for positive correlation with age.

Conclusions: The characteristics of fat-containing cells in the pancreas indicate that some of them may be mature adipocytes, and fat volume may be increased by hyperplasia of fat-containing cells associated with insulin resistance.