OSA is associated with increased CD11c expression in visceral adipose tissue and increased glycolipid metabolism disorder independent of obesity

Objective To analyze the correlation between CD11c+ macrophages and glycolipid metabolism disorder in the visceral adipose tissue of obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Methods Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to account for obesity-related confounders. RNA was extracted and RT-qPCR was performed to analyze the mRNA expression of macrophage markers and inflammatory cytokines. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between CD11c expression and the main sleep parameters. Finally, stepwise multiple linear regression was constructed to assess risk factors for insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in OSA patients.

Results Before PSM, a total of 270 obese patients were included in the study, including 252 OSA patients, with a prevalence of 93.3%. Compared with the control groups, OSA patients had a higher mean age (28.22±7.3 vs 32.01±7.4, p =0.035), body mass index (BMI) (31.88±5.1 vs 36.80±6.7, p =0.002) and waist circumference (103.58±13.6 vs 113.71±16.4). p =0.011), HOMA-IR and total cholesterol were also significantly increased (p =0.012, p<0.001, respectively). After PSM, 10 patients were included in the OSA group and control group, respectively. HOMA-IR {5.89 (4.56-8.54) vs 3.05 (2.22-4.28), p =0.034} and triglyceride levels {1.68 (1.53-2.77) vs 1.09 (0.92-1.38), P =0.023} were still elevated in OSA group.

Conclusion The increased CD11c expression in visceral adipose tissue was proved to be an important feature in OSA patients. Furthermore, CD11c+ macrophage infiltration made a stronger contribution to models predicting the risk factors of glycolipid metabolism disorder independent of obesity.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023