Postprandial cell inflammatory response to a standardised fatty meal in subjects at different degree of cardiovascular risk

A fatty meal may represent a challenge of in vivo acute inflammatory reaction. We evaluated the acute effects of a standardised fatty meal administration on leukocytes and platelets and on their interactions on 61 subjects at different degree of cardiovascular risk, without any clinical event. Before and 2 hours after a fatty meal, blood cells were counted and markers of leukocyte (intracellular myeloperoxidase [MPO] and Mac-1) and platelet (P-selectin and microparticles) activation and mixed platelet-leukocyte conjugates measured by flow-cytometry. After the fatty meal, both white blood cell and platelet count significantly increased, more markedly in subjects with lower cardiovascular risk score. Mac-1 expression too increased (from 32.2 ± 27.2% to 45.6 ± 29.0%, p=0.0016), while MPO decreased (from 83.1 ± 16.3% to 64.5 ± 23.1%, p