Do adipose tissue macrophages cause type 2 diabetes?
Obesity is associated with increased numbers of macrophages in adipose tissue, which may promote insulin resistance via local inflammatory actions. We characterised adipose macrophages (AMs) in obese non-diabetic women and identified two AM subsets (CD11chi and CD11clo) that differentially express the CD11c surface marker. Obese women with severe insulin resistance, an early marker of type 2 diabetes, have increased numbers of CD11chi AMs compared to comparably obese women who are not insulin resistant, suggesting CD11chi AMs may cause diabetes. Ongoing work aims to determine the functional differences between CD11chi and CD11clo AMs with the goal of developing anti-inflammatory treatments for type 2 diabetes.
