In vitro Lipolysis and Leptin Production of Elephant Seal Blubber Using Precision-Cut Adipose Tissue Slices

Adipose tissue plays key roles in energy homeostasis. Understanding its metabolism and regulation is essential to predict the impact of environmental changes on wildlife health, especially in fasting-adapted species. However, in vivo experimental work in wild vertebrates can be challenging. We have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in Physiology
Main Authors: Cathy Debier, Laura Pirard, Marie Verhaegen, Caroline Rzucidlo, Gilles Tinant, Clément Dewulf, Yvan Larondelle, Donald R. Smith, Jean-François Rees, Daniel E. Crocker
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.615784
https://doaj.org/article/5714ba9b9ecb4e9d8b0ee6cfeb1c99e8
Description
Summary:Adipose tissue plays key roles in energy homeostasis. Understanding its metabolism and regulation is essential to predict the impact of environmental changes on wildlife health, especially in fasting-adapted species. However, in vivo experimental work in wild vertebrates can be challenging. We have developed a novel in vitro approach of precision-cut adipose tissue slices from northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) as a complementary approach to whole animal models. Blubber biopsies were collected from 14 pups during early and late post-weaning fast (Año Nuevo, CA, United States), precision-cut into 1 mm thick slices and maintained in culture at 37°C for at least 63 h. The slices exhibited an efficient response to ß-adrenergic stimulation, even after 2 days of culture, revealing good in vitro tissue function. The response to lipolytic stimulus did not vary between regions of outer and inner blubber, but was higher at early than at late fast for inner blubber slices. At early fast, lipolysis significantly reduced leptin production. At this stage, inner blubber slices were also more efficient at producing leptin than outer blubber slices, especially in the non-lipolytic condition. This model will aid the study of adipose tissue metabolism and its response to environmental stressors in marine mammals.