Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-acylation induced by stearic acid leads to impaired E2-signaling in macrophages during high fat diet (HFD) feeding

We previously encountered in a high-estradiol (E2)-animal model, the modulation of the immune response and the attenuation of ERα-signaling due to HFD-feeding, resulting in massive inflammatory processes. Identifying stearic acid (C18:0) as the fatty acid at highest induced by HFD (566.89 ± 25.63 vs. 982.57 ± 67.28 µg/ml), we investigated the effects of C18:0 on macrophages on an E2-background stimulation, using differentiated THP-1 cells for mRNA, flow-cytometry analysis (FACS) and luciferase gene-reporter assays. When treated with C18:0, THP-1 macrophages showed a significantly decreased expression of the M2 (…