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. 2023 Jun 26:14:1205799.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1205799. eCollection 2023.

Distinct inflammatory signatures of upper and lower body adipose tissue and adipocytes in women with normal weight or obesity

Ioannis G Lempesis  1   2   3 , Nicole Hoebers  2 , Yvonne Essers  2 , Johan W E Jocken  2 , Rosemary Dineen  1   3 , Ellen E Blaak  2 , Konstantinos N Manolopoulos  1   3 , Gijs H Goossens  2
Affiliations

Distinct inflammatory signatures of upper and lower body adipose tissue and adipocytes in women with normal weight or obesity

Ioannis G Lempesis et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Introduction: Upper and lower body fat accumulation poses an opposing obesity-related cardiometabolic disease risk. Depot-differences in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) function may underlie these associations. We aimed to investigate the inflammatory signatures of abdominal (ABD) and femoral (FEM) SAT in postmenopausal women with normal weight or obesity.

Methods: We included 23 postmenopausal women with normal weight (n = 13) or obesity (n = 10). In vivo secretion of adipokines from ABD and FEM SAT was measured using the arterio-venous balance technique. Adipokine gene expression and adipocyte morphology were examined in ABD and FEM SAT. Furthermore, adipokine expression and secretion were investigated in vitro using differentiated human primary ABD and FEM subcutaneous adipocytes derived from the study participants.

Results: Plasma leptin and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 concentrations were higher, and ABD and FEM adipocytes were larger in women with obesity than normal weight. No differences in adipocyte size and blood flow were apparent between ABD and FEM SAT. We found significant release of leptin and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 from ABD and FEM SAT, with higher fractional release of MCP-1 from ABD than FEM SAT. Gene expression of leptin, PAI-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α was lower in ABD than FEM SAT and higher in women with obesity than normal weight. In ABD adipocytes, interleukin-6, PAI-1, and leptin gene expression were higher, while adiponectin and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 gene expression were lower than in FEM adipocytes. Finally, ABD adipocytes secreted less MCP-1 compared to FEM adipocytes.

Discussion: These findings demonstrate that upper and lower body SAT and adipocytes are characterized by distinct inflammatory signatures in postmenopausal women, which seem independent of adipocyte size.

Keywords: adipokines; adipose tissue; body fat distribution; inflammation; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Plasma adipokine concentrations in arterial blood from postmenopausal women with normal weight (n = 9) and obesity (n = 6). (A) Leptin, (B) plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), (C) dipeptidyl-peptidase (DPP)-4, (D) monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1), and (E) adiponectin; NW, normal weight; O, obesity. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fractional release of adipokines across subcutaneous abdominal (ABD) and femoral (FEM) subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in postmenopausal women with normal weight (n = 9) and obesity (n = 6). (A) Leptin (B) PAI-1, (C) DPP-4, (D) MCP-1, and (E) adiponectin; paired data from ABD and FEM SAT are shown. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Morphology of subcutaneous adipocytes from individuals with normal weight (n = 11) and obesity (n = 8). (A) Fat cell size; (B) relative adipocyte size distribution (%). NW-A, normal weight ABD; O-A, obese abdominal; NW-F, normal weight FEM; O-F, obese FEM. NW, normal weight; O, obesity. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Gene expression of adipokines in ABD and FEM subcutaneous adipose tissue. Data are shown for the total group of women with normal weight and obesity (A–G; pairs n = 18) as well as for the normal weight and obese groups separately (H–N; ABD NW, n = 10, ABD O n = 9, FEM NW n = 11, FEM O n = 9). NW, normal weight; O, obesity. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, # p < 0.01.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Adipokine gene expression in adipose tissue–derived mesenchymal stem cells that were differentiated for 14 days. Data are shown for the total group of women with normal weight and obesity (A–G; n = 18) as well as for both groups separately (H–N; ABD NW, n = 9; ABD O, n = 9; FEM NW, n = 9; FEM O, n = 9). NW, normal weight; O, obesity. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001, # p < 0.01.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Adipokine secretion from adipose tissue–derived mesenchymal stem cells that were differentiated for 14 days. Data are shown for the total group of women with normal weight and obesity (A–E; n = 18) as well as for both groups separately (F–J); ABD NW, n = 9; abdominal O, n = 9; FEM NW, n = 9; FEM O, n = 9). NW, normal weight; O, obesity. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, # p < 0.01.
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