Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
07:46
Isolation, Characterization, and Purification of Macrophages from Tissues Affected by Obesity-related Inflammation
Published on: April 3, 2017
From Metabolically Healthy to Unhealthy Obesity Through Low-Grade Inflammation
Anastasia Voznesenskaya1, Alyona Sorokina1, Marina Shestakova1
1Endocrinology Research Centre, 117292 Moscow, Russia.
Biomedicines
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Metabolically healthy obesity can progress to unhealthy obesity due to metabolic inflammation. Key immune changes and biomarkers are discussed, though standardization challenges persist for predicting transitions.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Metabolic Health
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Obesity presents as metabolically healthy (MHO) or unhealthy (MUO), with MUO linked to comorbidities like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
- The transition between MHO and MUO phenotypes and their underlying mechanisms, particularly metabolic inflammation (metaflammation), require further elucidation.
- Metaflammation is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in obesity pathogenesis and metabolic dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review immune cell population and mediator changes during the MHO to MUO transition.
- To map the adipose tissue immune landscape associated with MHO/MUO phenotypes.
- To explore the dynamics of metaflammation intensification and its role in MHO progression.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on immune cell populations and pro-inflammatory mediators in obesity phenotypes.
- Comparative analysis of adipose tissue immune landscapes in MHO and MUO.
- Conceptual modeling of metaflammation intensification during MHO/MUO transition.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in immune parameters exist between MHO and MUO, with specific markers like CRP, IL-6, IL-17A, leukocytes, and neutrophils showing potential as biomarkers.
- A dynamical pattern of changes accompanies the MHO to MUO transition, driven by intensifying metaflammation.
- Challenges in biomarker validation arise from non-standardized MHO definitions and MUO heterogeneity.
Conclusions:
- Metaflammation plays a pivotal role in the progression from metabolically healthy to unhealthy obesity.
- While several immune markers show differences, validated predictive biomarkers for MHO/MUO transition remain elusive due to methodological inconsistencies.
- Mechanisms of metabolic memory and incomplete metabolic reversibility post-bariatric surgery are also significant considerations.
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