Autoantibodies production and immunological abnormalities after bariatric surgery

Abstract

Objective: Bariatric surgery is a widely used procedure for the treatment of obesity. Our aim is to describe the main immunological changes in patients who undergo bariatric surgery. Methods: A prospective study was conducted within a cohort of patients undergoing bariatric surgery and without previous evidence of systemic or organ-specific autoimmune diseases in whom 3 blood samples were collected – one day before surgery (Time 0), and 5 (Time 1) and 10 months (Time 2) after surgery. Results: Thirty four obese patients underwent surgery (Time 0):30(88.24%) were women, mean age 38.3 years. When comparing Time 0 and Time 2, there were statistically significant changes in CD4+T cell count, with an increase from 1074/mL(IQR:860–1316) to 1217.5/mL(IQR:838–1510),p = 0.0002. The CD4/CD8 ratio increased from 2.2(IQR: 1.7–2.7) to 2.4(1.8–2.8), p = 0.0001. As for humoral variables, the C3 fraction of complement decreased from 164 ± 40.6 mg/dL to 112.4 ± 31.4 mg/dL(p 200 IU/mL at Time 2. Conclusions: Patients undergoing bariatric surgery show immunological changes which might eventually lead to develop an autoimmune disease. Keywords: Bariatric surgery, Autoimmune diseases, Immunology