Lipase: Localization in Adipose Tissue

Abstract

Certain problems usually associated with the histochemistry of lipases are obviated by a technique that utilizes the endogenous blood chylomicrons and the cellular stores of triglyceride as substrates for the histochemical demonstration of lipolytic enzyme activity in situ. In spreads of mesenteric adipose tissue, the technique makes it possible to distinguish between lipoprotein lipase activity at sites in the capillaries and lipolysis occurring in the adipocytes. The selective anatomic lolization of the lipase reaction correlated with the functional state of the tissue, and the absence of reaction product in control mesenteries from starved mice or in heat-inactivated controls, support the validity of this histochemical reaction.