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Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease correlate with infiltration to adipose tissue of different immune cells, with uncertain influences on metabolism. Rats were fed a diet high in carbohydrates and saturated fats to develop diet-induced obesity over 16 weeks. This nutritional overload caused overexpression and secretion of phospholipase [A.sub.2] group HA (pla2g2a) from immune cells in adipose tissue rather than adipocytes, whereas expression of adipose-specific phospholipase [A.sub.2] (pla2g16) was unchanged. These immune cells produce prostaglandin [E.sub.2] ([PGE.sub.2]), which influences adipocyte signaling. We found that a selective inhibitor of human pla2g2a (5-(4-benzyloxyphenyl)-(4S)-(phenyl-heptanoylamino)pentanoic acid [KH064]) attenuated secretion of [PGE.sub.2] from human immune cells stimulated with the fatty acid, palmitic acid, or with lipopolysaccharide. Oral administration of KH064 (5 mg/kg/ day) to rats fed the high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet prevented the overexpression of pla2g2a and the increased macrophage infiltration and elevated [PGE.sub.2] concentrations in adipose tissue. The treatment also attenuated visceral adiposity and reversed most characteristics of metabolic syndrome, producing marked improvements in insulin sensitivity, glucose intolerance, and cardiovascular abnormalities. We suggest that pla2g2a may have a causal relationship with chronic adiposity and metabolic syndrome and that its inhibition in vivo may be a valuable new approach to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction in humans. Diabetes 61:2320-2329, 2012, Obesity is a complex chronic condition in which excess adiposity predisposes the interacting metabolic and immune systems to continuous stress (1-4). Among the dynamic components of adipose tissue are adipocytes [...]