Obesity and metabolic disorders are associated with systemic low-grade chronic inflammation, both in humans and animals. The aim of the study is to assess the effects of obesity and hyperinsulinemia on individual components of the acute-phase reaction in equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) horses. Eight mixed-breed EMS and six control, age-matched horses of both sexes were included in the study. Animals were classified as EMS or control based on the assessment of BCS, cresty neck score, and basal insulin >50 μU/mL and/or insulin responses to the oral sugar test (OST) >60 μU/mL. Peripheral venous blood was collected. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines, the concentration of circulating cytokines, and acute-phase proteins (serum amyloid A, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, activin A, and procalcitonin) were measured. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, whereas correlations were examined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. The tests were statistically significant if P ≤ 0.05. There were no differences in cytokine gene expression, circulating cytokine concentrations, or concentrations of acute-phase proteins between the EMS and the control groups. There was a strong correlation between the basal concentration of insulin and the serum concentrations of IL-6 (r = 0.71, P < 0.05). Activin A was positively correlated with post-OST insulin concentrations (r = 0.707, P = 0.05), indicating that this marker of inflammation could warrant further investigation in horses with EMS.

肥胖和代谢异常与人和动物的全身性轻度慢性炎症有关。这项研究的目的是评估肥胖和高胰岛素血症对马代谢综合征（EMS）马急性期反应各个组成部分的影响。这项研究包括八种杂种EMS和六只年龄匹配的对照马。根据对BCS的评估，颈部的口臭评分和基础胰岛素> 50μU/ mL和/或对口服糖测试（OST）的胰岛素响应> 60μU/ mL，将动物分为EMS或对照组。收集外周静脉血。测量促炎细胞因子的表达，循环细胞因子的浓度和急性期蛋白（血清淀粉样蛋白A，C反应蛋白，触觉珠蛋白，激活素A和降钙素原）。使用Mann-Whitney检验分析数据，而使用Spearman相关系数检查相关性。如果P ≤0.05。在EMS和对照组之间，细胞因子基因表达，循环细胞因子浓度或急性期蛋白浓度没有差异。胰岛素的基础浓度与血清IL-6的浓度之间有很强的相关性（r = 0.71，P <0.05）。激活素A与OST后胰岛素浓度呈正相关（r = 0.707，P = 0.05），表明这种炎症标志物可能需要在具有EMS的马中进行进一步研究。