Intraindividual Variation in Markers of Intestinal Permeability and Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Healthy Normal-Weight to Obese Adults

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Intestinal permeability and adipose tissue inflammation are considered mechanistic links in the relationship between diet, obesity, and chronic disease. However, methods to measure both are not well standardized, and the reliability of commonly used measures is not known. Methods We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for several common measures of intestinal permeability and adipose tissue inflammation from a randomized clinical trial of cross-over design in which normal-weight ( n = 12) or overweight/obese ( n = 12) individuals each completed three 8-day dietary intervention periods. Results For biomarkers of intestinal permeability, plasma zonulin, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, ICCs were "excellent" (i.e., >0.9). The direct measure of intestinal permeability, the lactulose/mannitol test, exhibited "fair" reliability (ICC = 0.53). A wider range of ICCs (0.6-0.9), suggesting "good" to "excellent" reliability, were obtained for measures of adipose tissue expression of genes encoding major mediators of inflammation. Similarly, individual immune cell populations isolated from adipose tissue, expressed as a percentage of all CD45 + cells, also had "good" to "excellent" ICCs. However, when these populations were expressed as number of cells per gram of tissue, ICC values were "fair," falling below 0.6. Conclusions Due to the repeated measure

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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