Role of innate immune receptors TLR2 and TLR4 as mediators of the inflammatory reaction in human visceral adipose tissue.

White adipose tissue from different locations is characterized by significant differences in the structure of adipocyte "secretoma". Fat accumulation in the central-visceral depots is usually associated with a chronic inflammatory state, which is complicated by the metabolic syndrome. Recently, the adipose tissue was emerged to have an essential role in the innate immunity, adipocytes being considered effector cells due to the presence of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). In this study, we compared the expression of TNF-α, TLR2 and TLR4 in peripheral-subcutaneous and central-peritoneal adipose depots in three different conditions - lean, obese and obese diabetic - using immunohistochemistry. Our results suggest a correlation between the incidence of the stromal vascular cells and adipocytes TNF-α and TLR4 in the visceral depots in strong correlation with adipose tissue expansion. TLR2 positive cells were seen in the peripheral depots from all groups without any association with fat accumulation. These results focus on the existence of a new pathogenic pathway, the activation of TLR4, for the involvement of visceral adipose tissue in the activation and maintenance of the inflammatory cascade in obesity.