Immunosenescence Induced by Plasma from Individuals with Obesity Caused Cell Signaling Dysfunction and Inflammation.

Objective: To evaluate the consequences of plasma from individuals with obesity on parameters associated with immunosenescence in unrelated healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
Methods: Freshly isolated PBMC were incubated in media supplemented with 10% of plasma from individuals with obesity or control subjects for the first 4 hours of 24 to 120 hours of culture.
Results: Plasma from individuals with obesity modulated the phenotype of healthy PBMC, leading to a higher rate of apoptosis, lower amounts of phospho-γH2AX and -p53, and mitochondrial dysfunction. After 120 hours, there was a higher secretion of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-8. CD8 ⁺ T lymphocytes presented decreased expression of CD28, which is associated with the immunosenescent phenotype. CD14 ⁺ macrophages showed increased expression of CD80 and CD206, suggesting a modulation in the activation of macrophages.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate that chronic systemic inflammation observed in obesity induces dysfunctional features in PBMC that are consistent with premature immunosenescence.
(© 2017 The Obesity Society.)