Background: The inflammatory markers YKL-40 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) are elevated in morbidly obese patients and decline after weight loss. The objective of our study was to investigate the possible changes of YKL-40 and MCP-1, in both the fasting and the postprandial states, following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and normal glucose tolerance (NGT).
Methods: Ten obese patients with T2D and 10 subjects with NGT were examined in the fasting state and after a standard meal prior to and after (1 week, 3 months, and 1 year) RYGB.
Results: Fasting state MCP-1 levels decreased after RYGB in both groups (P values < 0.0001) whereas fasting YKL-40 levels were unchanged (P values ≥ 0.120). Postprandial MCP-1 levels showed a tendency towards a decrease on most study days; however, the changes were only significant at 1 week (P = 0.001) and 1 yr (P < 0.0001) in the T2D group and at 3 mo after RYGB in the NGT group (P = 0.009). YKL-40 levels showed a slight, postprandial suppression on all study days in the T2D group (all P values ≤ 0.021).
Conclusions: Fasting MCP-1 levels, but not YKL-40 levels, decrease after RYGB in subjects with T2D and NGT. Postprandial changes of inflammatory markers are discrete and inconsistent.