Background

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-a) have been implicated as mediators of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. Levels of these pro-inflammatory cytokines have been reported to change after bariatric surgery. We aim to describe changes in these biomarkers after bariatric surgery and how they potentially differ between patients with normal glucose regulation (NL), pre-diabetes (pre-DM), and non-insulin dependent diabetes (DM).

Methods

We prospectively enrolled 300 patients who underwent Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) and collected anthropomorphic data and IL-17 and TNF-a levels pre-op and post-operatively to 1 year.

Results

IL-17 levels were significantly higher at baseline in pre-DM vs DM (9.53pg/mL vs 6.77pg/mL, p=0.019), and significantly lower at 1-year in DM vs NL (5.90pg/mL vs 7.66pg/mL, p= 0.030). There was no significant differences in baseline values of TNF-a. Levels of TNF-a were significantly decreased at 1-year post-op in the pre-DM (6.71pg/mL to 5.79pg/mL, p=0.033) and DM (5.99pg/mL to 5.30 pg/mL, p=0.028) groups.

Conclusions

We report TNF-a levels were significantly decreased after SG in patients with pre-DM and DM. Levels of IL-17 were also significantly lower in DM compared to NL at 1 year after SG.