Ectopic fats have been recognized as a new risk factor for metabolic syndrome. In obese humans, ectopic fat accumulations are affected by body fat distribution. Intramuscular adipose tissue is categorized as one of the ectopic fats. Japanese black cattle (Wagyu) are characterized by the ability to accumulate high amounts of intramuscular adipose tissue. In Japan, the marbling level is indicated by the beef marbling standard number (BMS No.), which reflects the intramuscular fat content of longissimus muscle. We hypothesized that the intramuscular fat accumulation is affected by the body fat distribution in Wagyu cattle. In this study, we showed that the BMS No. was not correlated with the subcutaneous and visceral adipocyte diameter. In contrast, the BMS No. was positively correlated with intramuscular adipocyte diameter. These results indicate that the intramuscular adipocyte diameter of Wagyu is hypertrophied with an increase in the intramuscular fat accumulation. In addition, we showed that the BMS No. was positively correlated with the subcutaneous fat percentage. In contrast, the BMS No. was negatively correlated with the visceral fat percentage. These results indicate that highly marbled Wagyu cattle have a higher percentage of subcutaneous fat and a lower percentage of visceral fat.

中文翻译：

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体脂分布和脂肪细胞大小对和牛肌内脂肪积累的脂肪库特异性影响。

异位脂肪已被认为是代谢综合征的新危险因素。在肥胖人群中，异位脂肪堆积受体脂分布的影响。肌内脂肪组织被归类为异位脂肪之一。日本黑牛 (Wagyu) 的特点是能够积累大量的肌肉内脂肪组织。在日本，大理石花纹等级用牛肉大理石花纹标准号（BMS No.）来表示，它反映了最长肌的肌内脂肪含量。我们假设肌肉内脂肪堆积受和牛体内脂肪分布的影响。在这项研究中，我们发现 BMS 编号与皮下和内脏脂肪细胞直径无关。相反，BMS No.与肌内脂肪细胞直径呈正相关。这些结果表明和牛的肌内脂肪细胞直径随着肌内脂肪堆积的增加而肥大。此外，我们发现 BMS No. 与皮下脂肪百分比呈正相关。相反，BMS No.与内脏脂肪百分比呈负相关。这些结果表明，具有高大理石花纹的和牛皮下脂肪百分比较高，内脏脂肪百分比较低。