3T3-L1 is a cell line derived from 3T3 cells

3T3 cells

3T3 cells come from a cell line established in 1962 by two scientists then at the Department of Pathology in the New York University School of Medicine, George Todaro and Howard Green. The 3T3 cell line has become the standard fibroblast cell line...

 that is used in biological research on adipose tissue

Adipose tissue

In histology, adipose tissue or body fat or fat depot or just fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes. It is technically composed of roughly only 80% fat; fat in its solitary state exists in the liver and muscles. Adipose tissue is derived from lipoblasts...

. 3T3-L1 cells have a fibroblast

Fibroblast

A fibroblast is a type of cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, the structural framework for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing...

-like morphology

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

, but, under appropriate conditions, the cells differentiate

Cellular differentiation

In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of...

 into an adipocyte

Adipocyte

However, in some reports and textbooks, the number of fat cell increased in childhood and adolescence. The total number is constant in both obese and lean adult...

-like phenotype

Phenotype

A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...

.

3T3-L1 cells of the adipocyte morphology increase the synthesis and accumulation of triglyceride

Triglyceride

A triglyceride is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. There are many triglycerides, depending on the oil source, some are highly unsaturated, some less so....

s and acquire the signet ring appearance of adipose cells. These cells are also sensitive to lipogenic and lipolytic hormones and drugs, including epinephrine

Epinephrine

Epinephrine is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels, dilates air passages and participates in the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system. In chemical terms, adrenaline is one of a group of monoamines called the catecholamines...

, isoproterenol

Isoproterenol

Isoprenaline or isoproterenol is a medication used for the treatment of bradycardia , heart block, and rarely for asthma...

, and insulin

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

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