Interleukin-17A Gene Expression in Morbidly Obese Women.

Data from recent studies conducted in rodent models and humans suggest that interleukin-17A (IL-17A) plays a role in the induction of inflammation in adipose tissue during obesity. The aim of this study was to assess the gene expression of IL-17A in adipose tissue of morbidly obese patients. We used RT-PCR to evaluate the expression of IL-17A and several adipo/cytokines in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) of 10 normal-weight control women (BMI < 25 kg/m2) and 30 morbidly obese women (MO, BMI > 40 kg/m2).

Human dendritic cell activities are modulated by the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid, mainly through PPAR(gamma):RXR heterodimers: comparison with other polyunsaturated fatty acids.

There is accumulating evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may modulate immune responses. When monocytes were differentiated to dendritic cells (DCs) in the presence of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the expression of costimulatory and antigen presentation markers was altered in a concentration-dependent way, positively or negatively, depending on the markers tested and the maturation stage of the DCs. Changes induced by eicosapentaenoic acid and linoleic acid were similar but less intense than those of DHA, whereas oleic acid had almost no effect.

9-cis-Retinoic acid (9cRA), a retinoid X receptor (RXR) ligand, exerts immunosuppressive effects on dendritic cells by RXR-dependent activation: inhibition of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma blocks some of the 9cRA activities, and precludes them to mature phenotype development.

At nanomolar range, 9-cis-retinoic acid (9cRA) was able to interfere in the normal differentiation process from human monocyte to immature dendritic cell (DC) and produced a switch in mature DCs to a less stimulatory mode than untreated cells. 9cRA-treated mature DCs secreted high levels of IL-10 with an IL-12 reduced production. The phenotypic alterations unleashed by 9cRA were similar but not identical to other specific retinoid X receptor (RXR) agonists and to those already reported for rosiglitazone, a PPARgamma activator, on DCs.