Putative roles of specific T cells in progression of obesity-associated inflammation in adipose tissue. (173.36)

Abstract

Abstract The metabolic syndrome is known as a chain of illness, triggered by obesity followed by diabetes, hepatic steatosis and atherosclerosis. It is well known that adipose tissues in obesity are in a state of chronic inflammation, and that such inflammatory state is tightly associated with multiple metabolic disorders. Accumulating evidence has shown that the inflammation is mainly lead by the recruitment of macrophages into adipose tissues. Although it has recently been suggested that T cells may also play a role in establishment of inflammation in adipose tissue during the early phase of obesity, specificity and roles of them are poorly understood. In order to solve this issue, we first kinetically analyzed the repertoire of T cells recruited into adipose tissues along with the progression of obesity in mice. Interestingly, the adipose tissue T cells in mice fed with high fat diet for 9 wks harbored restricted repertoires of T cell receptor (TCR), indicating the presence of specific antigen(s) derived from fat tissues in obese individuals. Until now, we have created TCR transgenic mice in which majority of T cells may respond to a particular antigen exposed in obese adipose tissue. Our study will clarify the precise role of T cells in metabolic syndrome, and will contribute to development of a new therapeutic strategy.