Palmitic acid damages gut epithelium integrity and initiates inflammatory cytokine production

The mechanisms leading to the low-grade inflammation observed during obesity are not fully understood. Seeking the initiating events, we tested the hypothesis that the intestine could be damaged by repeated lipid supply and therefore participate in inflammation. In mice, 1–5 palm oil gavages increased intestinal permeability via decreased expression and mislocalization of junctional proteins at the cell–cell contacts; altered the intestinal...