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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Isolation, Characterization, and Purification of Macrophages from Tissues Affected by Obesity-related Inflammation
Published on: April 3, 2017
Integrin expression and H2O2 production in circulating and splenic leukocytes of obese rats
Choong H Kim1, Nosratola D Vaziri, Bernardo Rodriguez-Iturbe
1Renal Service, Hospital Universitario, Avenida Goajira s/n, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Objective:
Obesity is associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. We hypothesized that the pro-inflammatory state in obesity may result in spontaneous activation and, hence, increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and integrin expression in the circulating leukocytes.
Methods:
Flow cytometry was used to determine integrin expression (immunostaining) as well as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide productions (fluorescent probes) in the peripheral blood and splenic leukocyte of 24-week-old male obese normotensive and not-as-yet diabetic Zucker rats (n = 6) and their lean counterparts (n = 6).
Results:
Obese rats had hyperlipidemia and normal arterial pressure, plasma glucose, and creatinine concentrations. Nevertheless, obese rats exhibited increased hydrogen peroxide production by circulating and splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and by splenic macrophages. This was accompanied by up-regulations of CD11a expression in the peripheral blood and splenic CD4+ T cells, CD11b in circulating macrophages, and CD11a and CD18 in circulating granulocytes.
Conclusion:
The study revealed direct evidence of spontaneous leukocyte activation and increased ROS generation by T lymphocytes and monocytes in the peripheral blood of obese Zucker rats before the development of diabetes or hypertension. These findings illustrate the link between obesity, oxidative stress, and inflammation.
