In order to assess the direct storage of circulating free fatty acids (FFA) in visceral (omental) and subcutaneous fat in postabsorptive women, Koutsari et al. administered an intravenous bolus dose of [1-14C]oleate followed by timed subcutaneous fat biopsies in 12 women. Several indices of body fat distribution were obtained and visceral fat biopsies were also performed during tubal ligation surgery. The main finding was a decrease in site-specific fat activity in women with increased accumulation of upper-body subcutaneous and visceral fat depots. Such an observation was not reported for femoral adipose tissue activity, which remained constant, independent of femoral fat mass. Accordingly, [1-14C]oleate storage was positively associated with lower-body subcutaneous fat mass, whereas no significant relationships were observed between abdominal subcutaneous or visceral fat mass and fat storage. Based on these observations, the authors concluded that the heterogeneity in FFA storage between fat depots suggests that different regulatory mechanisms may play a causal role in the regulation/maintenance of body fat distribution in women.
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