The Effect of Progesterone and of Insulin Administration on Regional Adipose Tissue Cellularity in the Rat

Female rats were given progesterone in a high and a low dose or insulin by injection. Both hormones caused hyperinsulinemia and an elevated body weight, explainable by increased fat tissue weight, which in turn was due to an increased fat cell size. There was a regional specificity of these effects for both procedures. It was therefore concluded that adipose tissue does not react as a homogenous tissue to different stimuli. Although not definitely conclusive because of difference in the degree of hyperinsulinemia the results also indicate that the effects of insulin are primarily exerted on the small fat cells of the subcutaneous region while progesterone increased the size of the larger parametrial fat cells.