fat cell

American  

noun

Biology.

1. a cell in loose connective tissue that is specialized for the synthesis and storage of fat.

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Etymology

Origin of fat cell

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

These proteins facilitate many of our body's physiological processes, including gut function, liver and fat cell metabolism, and skin elasticity.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

For example, an MDM2-targeting drug shrank deep-tissue fat cell tumors in just one out of 20 patients in a phase I safety trial, published in 2012.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 5, 2016

Although they seem to have similar functions, and express many of the same genes as brown fat, they are sufficiently distinct to be considered a new type of fat cell, says Spiegelman.

From Nature • Apr. 16, 2014

In experimental animals, stimulating norepinephrine receptors triggered brown adipose tissue to release its energy and generate heat, while animals bred to be missing these receptors were unable to mount the same fat cell response.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 1, 2013

A fat cell and a muscle cell are as different as a gas tank and an engine: One stores energy, and one burns it.

From Washington Post