Abstract

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a global health issue and developing new therapies continues to be urgent. Inflammation is thought to participate in the pathogenesis of obesity-induced insulin resistance and T2D, and is a potential target to treat this disease. Circulating white blood cell (WBC) number or C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, which is a representative blood marker of the inflammation, can predict the incidence of T2D. Recent studies have shown that obesity is accompanied by chronic local inflammation in adipose tissue and increments of adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) number. ATMs are involved in the deterioration of systemic insulin sensitivity, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) contributes to the migration of macrophages into fat and development of insulin resistance. Salicylate and thiazolidinedione (TZD) affect immune cells in circulating blood or adipose tissue, which leads to improved insulin sensitivity systemically. Pharmacological intervention for chronic inflammation may provide a new approach to the treatment of T2D in the future.