Obese Patient-Derived Sera have Proinflammatory Effect

Abstract

Aim: Chronic inflammation of adipose tissues plays a key role in obesity-induced metabolic disorders. We examined effects of sera from obese patients with or without different compositions of metabolic disorders on the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in the human monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1), which have never been reported. Method: With or without pretreatment of TLR4 monoclonal antibody, THP-1 cells were incubated for 48h by sera from 45 obese patients with or without metabolic disorders and 15 controls. The level of TLR4 in THP-1 cells, intracellular level of phosphorylated NF-κB p65, IL-1β and TNF-α levels in cell culture supernatants were measured. Results: Compared with controls, the expression level of TLR4, NF-κB p65, IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly increased (p < 0.05) after cells were incubated with sera from obese patients. The more compositions of metabolic disorders, the higher increase of these factors. Pretreatment with TLR4 monoclonal antibody suppressed the degree of increase in these factors (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Sera from obese patients could induce the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in THP-1 monocytes by different degrees. The TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway plays an important role in the proinflammatory effect of obese patient-derived sera.