The perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) differs from other fat depots and exerts a paracrine action on the vasculature. The spleen has an important role in the immune response, and it was observed to have either a protective role or a contribution to
obesity-related diseases. However, the relation between spleen and PVAT is elusive in
obesity. We investigated the role of spleen in the inflammatory profile of the mesenteric PVAT (mPVAT) from mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks. Male C57Bl/6 mice were
sham-operated or splenectomized (SPX) and fed a HFD for 16 weeks. mPVAT morphology was evaluated by
hematoxylin and
eosin staining, infiltrated immune cells were evaluated by flow cytometry, inflammatory
cytokines were evaluated by ELISA and the splenic cell chemotaxis mediated by mPVAT was evaluated using a transwell assay. In SPX mice, HFD induced adipocyte
hypertrophy and increased immune cell infiltration and proinflammatory
cytokine levels in mPVAT. However, none of these effects were observed in mPVAT from
sham-operated mice. Spleen from HFD fed mice presented reduced total leukocytes and increased inflammatory markers when compared to the spleen from control mice. Chemotaxis of spleen cells mediated by mPVAT of HFD fed mice was reduced in relation to standard diet fed mice. The spleen protects mPVAT against the effects of 16-week HFD. This information was missing, and it is important because PVAT is different from other fat depots and data cannot be extrapolated from any type of adipose tissue to PVAT.