Human monocytes and macrophages undergo M1-type inflammatory polarization in response to high levels of glucose.

Emerging data suggest that elevated glucose may promote inflammatory activation of monocytic lineage cells with the ability to injure vascular endothelial tissue of diabetic patients, however evidence in primary human monocytes and macrophages is still insufficient. We investigated the effect of high glucose concentration on the inflammatory capacity of human macrophages in vitro and examined whether similar responses were detectable in circulating monocytes from prediabetic patients. Primary monocytes were isolated from healthy blood donors and differentiated into macrophages.