In Vivo and Ex Vivo Inflammatory Markers of Common Metabolic Phenotypes in Humans.

Background: Low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI) is often characterized by elevated levels of interleukin (IL)6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Other serum proteins, ex vivo-stimulated cytokine production, and leukocyte count have, however, also been suggested LGSI-markers, but their associations with the metabolic syndrome (MS) are less clear. We aimed to evaluate mutual relationships between in vivo and ex vivo inflammatory markers and their association with MS and its subcomponents.