Chemokine receptor expression on T-cells in the blood of patients with normal body weight or obesity before abdominoplasty

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the level of chemokine receptor expression on peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients undergoing abdominoplasty and to compare these data in obese patients and with data in patients with normal body weight.
Methods. We analyzed the data of 92 women aged 18 to 56 years who underwent abdominoplasty surgery at the Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery “Frau Klinik 1”. Blood was collected during fasting before surgery. Mononuclear cells were isolated on a density gradient and stained with monoclonal antibodies conjugated with fluorescent dyes. Fluorescence intensity was measured on a FACSCalibur flow cytometer using the SimulSet program. Data were analyzed statistically with Biostatistics software.
Results. In obese patients, the peripheral blood levels of CD4⁺ T-cells, T-helper cells 1 (Th1), regulatory T-cells (Treg), naive T-cells, and memory T-cells were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Also in obese patients, expression of chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR6, CCR7, and CCR9 was elevated on the CD4⁺ T-lymphocyte subpopulation. It was found that obesity is associated with an increased expression of the chemokine receptors CCR5, CX3CR1, and CXCR3 on CD8⁺ cytotoxic lymphocytes, which reflects their ability to respond to regulatory chemokines and to be accumulated in the adipose tissue.
Conclusion. The results indicate a change in regulation of chemokines and their receptors in obesity. This is the pathogenetic basis for developing local inflammation in adipose tissue, and this regulatory change may facilitate the development of complications following abdominoplasty surgery.