Obesity-induced immune dysfunction and immunosuppression: TEM observation of visceral and subcutaneous lymph node microarchitecture and immune cell interactions.

Background Inflammation, induced by excessive adiposity, links obesity to disease risk yet little attention has been devoted to the lymphoid tissues embedded within adipose tissue depots. Lymph nodes are the primary site for the development of protective immunity, hence any disease process that affects these tissues will also directly impact immunity. Here we examined how obesity alters secondary lymphatic tissue structure and encapsulated immune cells.