Abstract

This study of the development of adipose tissue in sheep set out to investigate whether culture medium containing serum from Coopworth lean and fat selection lines had differential effects on proliferation and differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Using fetal calf serum (FCS) as a positive control, the effects of serum from lean and fat lines of sheep and from goat and horse were compared by analysing total cell numbers, and protein and triglyceride (TG) levels per unit DNA in the mouse cell cultures. Differentiation was induced in all serum treatments. Mean cell numbers in cultures up to 13 days after differentiation were higher for sheep serum than for the other species (P<0.001). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in protein content between FCS and serum from lean and fat sheep lines. Mean TG levels were significantly higher (P<0.001) for FCS than for the lean and fat selection lines, which did not differ significantly from each other (P>0.05). Significant differences in either proliferation or differentiation were not detected between the fat and lean sheep.

BA, Veenvliet, RP Littlejohn, JM Suttie, and TE Broad

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 59, , 279-281, 1999