A high-fat meal is accompanied by increased plasma interleukin-6 concentrations.

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Enhanced and prolonged postprandial lipaemia is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the mechanisms linking postprandial lipaemia to the increased risk of atherosclerosis and CHD remain to be determined. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of a high-fat meal on plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cellular adhesion molecules in CHD patients and control subjects.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Forty-one middle-aged men with premature CHD and 26 healthy male controls were investigated. The plasma triglyceride response to the high-fat meal was significantly greater among cases than controls. The oral fat load induced a twofold increase in plasma concentrations of IL-6, an increase that was similar in CHD patients and control subjects. No changes could be detected in plasma concentrations of cellular adhesion molecules in response to postprandial lipaemia in either CHD patients or control subjects.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study suggest that a high-fat meal affects mechanisms that induce increased inflammatory activity, which is recognised as a key modulator in the development of atherosclerosis and CHD. However, the increased levels of plasma IL-6 appear not to be determined by the magnitude of the postprandial triglyceridaemia.