Cytokine levels in the epi-WAT. Shown are the relative mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 (A), TNFα (B), IFNγ (C), IL-10 (D), and IL-1β (E) in the epi-WAT of HFD, HFD → NC, and NC mice, as measured by qPCR. Cytokine protein levels were also measured in epi-WAT lysates from HFD, HFD → NC, and NC mice including IL-6 (F), TNFα (G), IFNγ (H), IL-10 (I), IL-1β (J), IL-12p70 (K), and keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) (L). CD11c+ macrophages (F4/80+CD11b+CD11C+) and CD11C-macrophages (F4/80+CD11b+CD11C−) were FACS-sorted from 35 HFD mice and 34 HFD-NC mice. mRNA levels of TNFα in the sorted cells (M) and IL-1β (N) were measured by qPCR. Galectin-3 levels were measured using qPCR (O and P). FACS analysis measured the intensity of galectin-3 in the CD11c+ macrophages in epi-WAT (Q). Data are expressed as the mean ± S.E., n = 9–10 per group. *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01 (compared with the HFD group). ND means not detectable.