[New trends in macrophages, inflammation and adipose tissue]

Obesity is considered a low-inflammatory condition. An increasing number of reports suggest that the adipose tissue itself might be a source of proinflammatory factors and a target of inflammatory processes. Accumulating evidence suggest the involvement of adipose tissue derived proteins, collectively known as adipokines as well as other factors produced in this tissue by cells besides to adipocytes, like fibroblasts, lymphocytes and macrophages. The burden of obesity on health extends across multiple organs systems and diseases (atherosclerosis, coronary heart diseases, osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia). The high incidence and its chronic inflammatory condition have had a wide impact. The chronic nature of obesity produces a tonic low-grade activation of the innate immune system that affects steady-state measures of metabolic homeostasis over time. In this review we highlight the macrophage participation in the generation of obesity-induced inflammation.