Role of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in the Predisposition of Obese Individuals to Inflammation and Infection

Objective : To compare the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from obese but otherwise healthy individuals to that of normal-weight volunteers. Methods: 25 healthy normal-weight subjects and 41 obese individuals were enrolled. Weight and height were measured twice. PBMC were examined for their capacity to generate pro-inflammatory (TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-2) and anti-inflammatory IL-10 and IL-1ra) cytokines. Results: PBMC from obese individuals, compared to those from subjects with normal weight showed an increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2 (6.7 +/- 0.4. vs. 4.9 +/- 0.3 ng/ml; p = 0.003), TNF-alpha (505 +/- 45 vs. 277 +/- 32 pg/ml; p = 0.001), and IFN-gamma (93.8 +/- 6.0 vs. 73.9 +/- 2.7 ng/ml; p = 0.0016). However, PBMC from obese individuals produced a lower amount of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (651 +/- 72 pg/ml) versus those from subjects with normal weight (951 +/- 133 pg/ml; p = 0.039). Conclusions: The findings imply that obese individuals are in a 'low-grade inflammatory state', presumed to be connected with metabolic and cardiovascular co morbidities. The surplus of pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by circulating mononuclear cells of obese individuals, together with those secreted by adipocytes and non-fat cells in the adipose tissue, may contribute to the predisposition of obese patients to inflammation and infections. Copyright (C) 2013 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg