Breast Lipofilling Does Not Pose Evidence of Chronic Inflammation in Rats

Abstract

Background

Fat grafting to the breast has a questionable oncologic risk according to laboratory reports on adipose tissue. One possible reason for this is the theoretical chronic inflammation due to adipokynes released by the grafted white adipose tissue (WAT).

Objectives

Analyze inflammatory activity in lipofilled breast through proinflammatory markers.

Methods

Fifty-four paired-breasts of female rats were divided into four groups (control, sham, breasts grafted with autologous WAT of subcutaneous - SC, and of omentum - OM). The WAT was prepared through centrifugation and the grafting was performed via 0.9mm blunt tip cannula. The rats were euthanized at 8 weeks postoperatively, and their breasts were harvested for immunohistochemical staining for CD68-expressing macrophages, gene expression (real-time PCR) for Mcp-1, F4/80, Cox-2 and IL-6.

Results

The rats' weight differs between groups that underwent a procedure and the unmanipulated control (p<0.01). The macrophage counting of CD68 was different only between breasts lipofilled with OM and control (p<0.01). Mcp-1, F4/80 and Cox-2 were similarly expressed among the groups (respectively p=0.422, p=0.143 and p=0.209). The expression of IL-6 was different between samples of breast grafted with WAT of omentum and subcutaneous (p=0.015), but not between samples of control and omentum (p=0.752), and control and subcutaneous (p=0.056).

Conclusions

No inflammation activity was identified in the microenvironment of lipofilled breasts. This illustrates that chronic inflammation does not seem to be trigged by the breast lipofilling procedure.