Monocyte-derived macrophages from men and women with Type 2 diabetes mellitus differ in fatty acid composition compared with non-diabetic controls

We examined whether macrophages from men and women with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) exhibited differences in expression of key genes involved in fatty acid metabolism and in fatty acid composition compared with macrophages from non-diabetic controls. Peripheral blood monocytes from subjects with T2DM (n = 9) and non-diabetic controls (n = 10) were differentiated into macrophages in 10% autologous serum and normal (5 mM) or high (22 mM) glucose. Levels of PPARα, PPARγ, LXRα, SCD and ABCA1 mRNAs were similar in macrophages from subjects with T2DM and controls. At 5 mM glucose, macrophage stearic acid (C18:0) was 12.6 ± 1.0% of total fatty acids for T2DM compared with 18.1 ± 2.0% for controls (p = 0.03). Macrophage linoleic acid (C18:2) was 15.5 ± 0.8% for T2DM and 9.3 ± 2.0% for controls (p = 0.005). The ratio of macrophage stearic acid (C18:0)/oleic acid (C18:1) was 0.29 [0.25,0.48] for T2DM versus 0.54 [0.36,0.82] for controls (p = 0.04). Compared with non-diabetic controls, macrophages from men and women with T2DM had significantly different fatty acid profiles consistent with increased stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) activity and increased C18:2 accumulation. This pattern of altered macrophage fatty acid composition may be relevant to diabetic atherogenesis.