“…However, research in human obesity suggests that phagocytes may be particularly affected (Bray, 1985; Chandra, 1991; Stallone, 1994). In animals, differences in immune responsiveness have been described between mouse strains and between different types of obesity (Conge et al, 1981, 1988; Stallone, 1994), and recent findings demonstrate functional and phenotypic abnormalities in macrophages from Zucker rats (Plotkin et al, 1996) or ob/ob mice (Loffreda et al, 1998; Lee et al, 1999). According to the authors, these macrophage defects could be explained by leptin deficiency observed in ob/ob mice (Loffreda et al, 1998; Lee et al, 1999).…”