Neuropeptide Y Is Produced by Adipose Tissue Macrophages and Regulates Obesity-Induced Inflammation

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is induced in peripheral tissues such as adipose tissue with obesity. The mechanism and function of NPY induction in fat are unclear. Given the evidence that NPY can modulate inflammation, we examined the hypothesis that NPY regulates the function of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) in response to dietary obesity in mice. NPY was induced by dietary obesity in the stromal vascular cells of visceral fat depots from mice. Surprisingly, the induction of Npy was limited to purified ATMs from obese mice. Significant basal production of NPY was observed in cultured bone marrow derived macrophage and dendritic cells (DCs) and was increased with LPS stimulation. In vitro, addition of NPY to myeloid cells had minimal effects on their activation profiles. NPY receptor inhibition promoted DC maturation and the production of IL-6 and TNFα suggesting an anti-inflammatory function for NPY signaling in DCs. Consistent with this, NPY injection into lean mice decreased the quantity of M1-like CD11c⁺ ATMs and suppressed Ly6c^hi monocytes. BM chimeras generated from Npy^−/− donors demonstrated that hematopoietic NPY contributes to the obesity-induced induction of Npy in fat. In addition, loss of Npy expression from hematopoietic cells led to an increase in CD11c⁺ ATMs in visceral fat with high fat diet feeding. Overall, our studies suggest that NPY is produced by a range of myeloid cells and that obesity activates the production of NPY in adipose tissue macrophages with autocrine and paracrine effects.