Obesity is associated with a chronic low-grade inflammation characterized by macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue that induces insulin resistance and the appearance of metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of the study was the investigation of whether circulating monocyte subsets are differentially regulated in MS.

Inclusion Criteria:

-

Exclusion Criteria:

Age less than 18 years old, pregnancy, breast feeding, kidney disease, liver disease, gastrointestinal disease, malignancy, any endocrine disorder or metabolic disease, other than obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), alteration of body weight (BW) by up of 5% of the initial BW during the last 3 months, any state of stress or systemic inflammation and taking any of the following drugs, within 3 weeks prior to the start of the study: hypolipidemic agents, antidiabetics, drugs for weight loss, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids.

In the present study healthy lean volunteers and obese subjects were recruited. The obese patients attended the Endocrinology outpatient clinic of the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece. The obese patients were either with metabolic syndrome (MS) or without MS.