Obesity inhibits an anti-inflammatory reaction of macrophages in response to biomaterials

Biomaterials are often used in regenerative medicine and surgery . Macrophages play a key role in the foreign body response to implanted biomaterials and can obtain a phenotype ranging from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory. Obesity leads to a chronic low-grade systemic inflammation which can alter the reaction to an implanted biomaterial. However, the population of people with obesity is increasing and more and more obese patients will receive a biomaterial for many different purposes in the future. Therefore, the aim if this study was to investigate to what extend obesity affects the acute response of macrophages to biomaterials, using an in vitro model.