Lipoblast

A lipoblast is a precursor cell for an adipocyte.^[1] Alternate terms include adipoblast^[2] and preadipocyte.^[3] Early stages are almost indistinguishable from fibroblasts.^[4]

• 
  Lipoblasts (white arrow) and lipocytes (black arrow), in a case of lipoblastoma
• 
  Micrograph showing a lipoblast (left-bottom of image) in a liposarcoma. H&E stain.
• 
  Histopathology of liposarcoma, H&E stain, with the main features:^[5]
  - Spindle cells with enlarged, hyperchromatic nuclei.
  - Apparently univacuolated adipocytes (may look normal).
  - Lipoblasts (multivacuolated), but neither necessary nor sufficient for diagnosis of liposarcoma.
• 
  Lipid-laden histiocytes may mimic lipoblasts, but have lightly eosinophilic cytoplasm and a small normochromatic nuclei which are not hollowed out from the lipid vacuoles.^[6]

Lipoblast features.

Liposarcoma

Lipoblasts are seen in liposarcoma^[7] and characteristically have abundant multivacuolated clear cytoplasm and a dark staining (hyperchromatic), indented nucleus.

See also

• Adipogenesis
• Adipose differentiation-related protein
• Lipoblastoma

• List of human cell types derived from the germ layers