Gut dysbiosis and adaptive immune response in diet-induced obesity vs. Systemic inflammation

A mutual interplay exists between adaptive immune system and gut microbiota. Altered gut microbial ecosystems are associated with the metabolic syndrome, occurring in most obese individuals. However, it is unknown why 10-25% of obese individuals are metabolically healthy, while normal weight individuals can develop inflammation and atherosclerosis. We modelled these specific metabolic conditions in mice fed with a chow diet, an obesogenic but not inflammatory diet - mimicking healthy obesity, or Paigen diet - mimicking inflammation in the lean subjects. We analysed a range of markers and cytokines in the aorta, heart, abdominal fat, liver and spleen, and metagenomics analyses were performed…