OIL RED-0 STAINS NON-ADIPOGENIC CELLS: A PRECAUTIONARY NOTE

Authors: KINKEL, ADRIENNE - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; FERNYHOUGH, MELINDA - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; HELTERLINE, DERI - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; VIERCK, JANET - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; OBERG, KAREN - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; VANCE, TYLER - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV; Hausman, Gary; HILL, RODNEY - UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO; DODSON, MICHESL - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Cytotechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/28/2004
Publication Date: 2/20/2005
Citation: Kinkel, A.D., Fernyhough, M.E., Helterline, D.L., Vierck, J.L., Oberg, K.S., Vance, T.J., Hausman, G.J., Hill, R.A., Dodson, M.V. 2005. Oil red-0 stains non-adipogenic cells: a precautionary note. Cytotechnology 46:49-56.

Interpretive Summary: Staining for fat or lipid with oil red O is conventionally used to identify fat cells and fat cell precursors in cell cultures. The particular type of solvent used to dissolve the oil red O stain had a major influence on the utility of the lipid staining. The particular solvent used to dissolve lipid stains should be carefully considered since only one solvent produced predictable or expected staining results.

Technical Abstract: Bovine adipofibroblasts, 3T3-L1 cells, L-6 myogenic cells, and sheep satellite cells were allowed to proliferate for 48 hours. Oil red-O was dissolved in three different solvents: isopropanol, propylene glycol and triethyl phosphate. At 48 hours, the proliferative cultures were stained with the three stains. Oil red-O stain prepared in both propylene glycol and triethyl phosphate resulted in bright red droplets appearing in all cultures, whereas oil red-O dissolved in isopropanol was not taken up by any of the cells. These data suggest that certain preparations of oil red-O may stain cells in non-adipogenic lineages as well as undifferentiated pre-adipocytes. Caution must be exercised when choosing solvents for oil red-O in differentiation studies using cells of the fat/adipose lineage.