Regional Adipose Tissue Immune Cell Profiles in Childhood‐Onset and Adult‐Onset Obesity

Abstract

BackgroundWe do not understand why individuals who have had obesity since childhood are at greater risk of metabolic disease.ObjectiveTo examine the effects of obesity onset and adipose tissue region (upper vs. lower body) on the proportion of adipose tissue immune cells.MethodsWe used flow cytometry to quantify the proportion of immune cells in the stromovascular fraction of abdominal (AB) and femoral (TH) subcutaneous adipose tissue from adults with childhood‐onset (n = 16) or adult‐onset (n = 22) obesity.ResultsThe proportion of CD8+CD3+ T‐cells was greater in AB than TH in childhood‐onset obesity, while greater in TH than AB in adult‐onset obesity. There was no effect of obesity onset on other immune cell types. However, there was an overall effect of region where the proportion of CD45RA+CD8+CD3+ T‐cells was greater in TH than AB, and the proportion of CD206+CD68+ M2‐like macrophages was greater in AB than TH.ConclusionOur results show that there are regional differences in the adipose tissue immune cell profiles between childhood‐onset and adult‐onset obesity. It remains to be seen whether these differences are implicated in increasing the risk of metabolic disease.Support or Funding InformationThis research was funded by NSERC and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of CanadaThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.