Establishment and characteristics of porcine preadipocyte cell lines derived from mature adipocytes

Development of established preadipocyte cell lines, such as 3T3‐L1 and 3T3‐F442A, greatly facilitated the study of molecular mechanisms of adipocyte differentiation under defined conditions. Most of these cell lines are derived from mouse embryos, and preadipocyte cell lines of other species have not yet been maintained in culture long enough to study differentiation under a variety of conditions. This is the first report on the establishment of porcine preadipocyte cell lines derived from mature adipocytes by a simple method, known as ceiling culture, for culturing mature adipocytes in vitro. This cell line can proliferate extensively until the cells become confluent and fully differentiated into mature adipocytes, depending on adipogenic induction. No changes in their differentiation pattern are observed during their propagation, and they have been successfully carried and differentiated for at least 37 passages. This cell line maintains a normal phenotype without transforming spontaneously, even after long‐term maintenance in culture. This achievement may lead to easy establishment of porcine preadipocyte cell lines and novel model systems for studying the mechanisms of adipocyte differentiation and metabolism as a substitute for human preadipocytes. J. Cell. Biochem. 109: 542–552, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.