ABSTRACT
DEVELOPMENT OF ADIPOSE TISSUE: ORGANIZATION AND DYNAMICS An expanded AT mass increases the risk of many pathologies, and therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms by which fat pads expand [72] (Figure 6.1). AT, like muscle and bone, is generally considered as having a mesodermal origin. Adipocytes differentiate from stellate or fusiform precursor cells of mesenchymal origin [73]. Spatial and temporal relationships between fetal vascular and fat cell development exist with depot-and genetic-dependent arteriolar differentiation having been described. Adipogenesis is also regulated by factors that drive angiogenesis [74,75].
