Obesity Is Associated with Increased F₂-Isoprostanes and IL-6 in Black Women

Obesity affects over 40% of the adult population and is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease. Black women have one of the highest prevalences of obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and cardiovascular events in the US. We previously found that free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation contributes to IL-6 production in dendritic cells leading to inflammation and hypertension. Thus, we hypothesized that F₂-isoprostanes (F₂-IsoPs), products and biomarkers of endogenous lipid peroxidation, contribute to increased inflammation and IL-6 production among obese Black women. We studied a total of 88 obese Black women of age 42.0 ± 9.8 years, weight 102 ± 16 kg, and body mass index (BMI) 37.68 ± 5.08. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 124 ± 14/76.2 ± 9.9 mmHg, heart rate was 68.31 ± 10.26 beats/min, and fasting insulin was 15.0 ± 8.7 uU/mL. Plasma F₂-IsoPs were measured using gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC/NICI-MS). Plasma cytokines, including IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β, TNF-a, and C-reactive proteins were measured using multiplex Luminex technology. Anthropometric measurements were performed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Using Pearson's correlation analysis, we found that BMI was positively correlated with plasma F2-IsoPs, while inversely correlated with insulin sensitivity in obese Black women. Further, F₂-IsoPs were positively correlated with inflammatory marker IL-6 levels while negatively correlated with anti-inflammatory marker IL-10. In addition, we found that plasma F₂-IsoPs levels were significantly associated with reduced insulin sensitivity. These results suggest that F₂-IsoPs may be associated with obesity-induced cardiovascular risk in Black women by increasing the production of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and decreasing the production of anti-inflammatory IL-10.