**9. Interleukin-10**

#### **9.1. Interleukin-10 and metabolic syndrome**

IL-10 is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine that modulates the immune response in order to prevent excessive activation and auto-damage [36]. Based on its properties, IL-10 plays important roles in modulating insulin resistance and atherosclerotic development and, in a cross-sectional study conducted on children and young adolescents, it has been found that plasmatic IL-10 levels were lower in overweight/obese children, and they concluded that IL-10 could be a marker of metabolic risk [37]. On the contrary, Esposito et al. found that IL-10 levels were lower in obese compared with normal weight women, but were lower in both groups that had MetS criteria [38]. Likewise, van Exel et al. found reduced plasmatic levels of IL-10 in patients with MetS and diabetes mellitus [39].

### **9.2. Interleukin-10 and adiponectin**

MetS is characterized by low levels of both adiponectin and IL-10, and recent studies have been evaluating if there is any link between the two molecules. In a study conducted on 117 men, it has been found that IL-10 levels significantly correlated with adiponectin levels especially in patients with MetS, but the correlation was stronger in MetS patients who presented abdominal obesity [77]. Also, Wolf et al. demonstrated that adiponectin modulates human monocytes and macrophages in producing anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and IL-1RA [78].
