Childhood Adiposity Associated With Expanded Effector Memory CD8+ and Vδ2+Vγ9+ T Cells

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Context Adult obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and may give rise to future chronic disease. However, it is unclear whether adiposity-related inflammation is already apparent in childhood. Objective To study associations between child adiposity measures with circulating monocytes and naive and memory subsets in CD4, CD8, and γδ T cell lineages. Methods Ten-year-old children (n = 890) from the Generation R Cohort underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging for body composition (body mass index [BMI], fat mass index [FMI], android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio, visceral fat index, liver fat fraction). Blood samples were taken for detailed immunophenotyping of leukocytes by 11-color flow cytometry. Results Several statistically significant associations were observed. A 1-SD increase in total FMI was associated with +8.4% (95% CI 2.0, 15.2) Vδ2+Vγ9+ and +7.4% (95% CI 2.4, 12.5) CD8+TEMRO cell numbers. A 1-SD increase in visceral fat index was associated with +10.7% (95% CI 3.3, 18.7) Vδ2+Vγ9+ and +8.3% (95% CI 2.6, 14.4) CD8+TEMRO cell numbers. Higher android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio was only associated with higher Vδ2+Vγ9+ T cells. Liver fat was associated with higher CD8+TEMRO cells but not with Vδ2+Vγ9+ T cells. Only liver fat was associated with lower Th17 cell numbers: a 1-SD increase was associated with −8.9% (95% CI −13.7, −3.7) Th17 cells. No associations for total CD8+, CD4+ T cells, or monocytes were observed. BMI was not associated with immune cells. Conclusion Higher Vδ2+Vγ9+ and CD8+TEMRO cell numbers in children with higher visceral fat index could reflect presence of adiposity-related inflammation in children with adiposity of a general population.
Funding Information
  • European Research Council (ERC-2014-CoG-648916)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (1117687)
  • Health~Holland

This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit: