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. Methods: 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). Conclusions: Sera from obese patient s 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.