Microparticles derived from obese adipose tissue elicit a pro-inflammatory phenotype of CD16, CCR5 and TLR8 monocytes.

Macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue (AT) is a hallmark of the chronic inflammatory response in obesity and is supported by an intense monocyte migration towards AT. Although it has been detected an increased proportion of circulating CD16 monocyte subsets in obese subjects, the mechanisms underlying this effect and the contribution of these cells to the inflamed profile of obese AT are still poorly understood. We investigated whether factors secreted by human obese omental AT could polarize monocytes to CD16 enriched phenotype, and how these changes could modify their migratory capacity towards adipose tissue itself.