The complex immunological and inflammatory network of adipose tissue in obesity

Abstract

A number of approaches have been utilized in the prevention, management, and treatment of obesity, including, surgery, medication, diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle changes. Despite these interventions, the prevalence of obesity and the various disorders related to it is growing. In obesity, there is a constant state of chronic low-grade inflammation which is characterized by activation and infiltration of pro-inflammatory immune cells and a dysregulated production of high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This pro-inflammatory milieu contributes to insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other related co-morbidities. The roles of the innate (macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, mast cells, NK cells, MAIT cells) and the adaptive (CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, regulatory T cells, and B cells) immune responses and the roles of adipokines and cytokines in adipose tissue inflammation and obesity are discussed. An understanding of the crosstalk between the immune system and adipocytes may shed light in better treatment modalities for obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Vitamin E homologues α- and γ-tocopherol are not associated with bone turnover markers or bone mineral density in peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women

“…The inverse relationship between serum α-tocopherol with the inflammatory markers IL-6 and hs-CRP in our study has been observed other studies [30], including in patients with CVD or its risk factors [31]. Smoking and overweight are inflammatory states with higher levels of oxidative stress [18,19], and we observed that individuals with higher BMI and smokers had decreased serum α-tocopherol concentrations, reflecting findings [5,23,32]. However, increased α-tocopherol does not appear to be beneficial, as supplementation of 800 IU/day in healthy or overweight adults [33,34] did not result in a decrease in inflammatory markers and may be due to α-tocopherol acting as a pro-oxidant at high concentrations [11].…”

“…We also examined the relationship between tocopherol homologues and inflammatory markers and smoking and body mass index (BMI), two factors known to affect the inflammatory state [5,[18][19][20], hypothesizing that α-and γ-tocopherol would have opposing associations with BMD and the inflammatory states and markers.…”

Immune profiles of T lymphocyte subsets in adipose tissue of obese mouse induced by high-fat diet

“…Obesity is associated with immune function impairment, affecting both innate and adaptive immune systems (Andersen et al, 2016, Exley et al, 2014. Excess fat mass leads to systemic low-grade chronic inflammatory states, particularly active local inflammation in adipose tissue (Apostolopoulos et al, 2016). Chronic lowgrade inflammation is recognized as one of the key steps in pathogenesis of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in obese individuals (Aarti et al, 2008, Emanuela F, 2012.…”

Inflammatory biomarkers: impact for diabetes and diabetic vascular disease

“…As obesity is the main risk factor associated with high CRP and pro-inflammatory state in populations with metabolic syndrome or type-2 diabetes, an understanding of the immunological complexity in obesity is imperative (Fig. 1) [24][25][26][27].…”