División de Ciencias de la Salud
This doctoral research project studies alterations related to the immune system in metabolic diseases. These alterations have been extensively studied in recent years, and some biomedically relevant determinants have been clarified, linking inflammatory phenomena to the progression and deterioration of health in subjects with metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or hypertension. The production and expression of interleukins, proteins that regulate the functioning of the immune system, are altered during the stages of metabolic diseases, causing a state of constant activation of the immune system. This event, known as chronic low-grade inflammation, has become one of the main characteristics of metabolic diseases. To date, the implications of several interleukins, such as IL-1β and TNF-α, are known; however, the role of new molecules, such as IL-36, has not yet been studied. In recent years, interleukins (IL-)36 have gained biomedical relevance due to their role in inflammatory diseases. Consequently, their study has focused primarily on diseases such as psoriasis, arthritis, and cancer. However, little is known about their involvement in metabolic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Therefore, serum levels of IL-36α, IL-36β, and IL-36γ, as well as the antagonist IL-36Ra, must be quantified using ELISA in healthy (eutrophic) individuals, as well as those with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. This will allow for the evaluation of their concentrations and their potential relationship with various metabolic and pro-inflammatory variables related to insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and the deterioration of patients’ health, thus establishing the role of these molecules in the development, diagnosis, and monitoring of these conditions.