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We measured arterio-venous differences in concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) across a sc adipose tissue bed in the postabsorptive state in 39 subjects [22 women and 17 men; median age, 36 yr (interquartile range, 26–48 yr); body mass index, 31.8 kg/m² (range, 22.3- 38.7 kg/m²); percent body fat, 28.7% (range, 17.6–50.7%)]. A subgroup of 8 subjects had arterio-venous differences measured across forearm muscle. Thirty subjects were studied from late morning to early evening; 19 ate a high carbohydrate meal around 1300 h, and 11 continued to fast. We found a greater than 2-fold increase in IL-6 concentrations across the adipose tissue bed [arterial, 2.27 pg/mL (range, 1.42–3.53 pg/mL); venous, 6.71 pg/mL (range, 3.36–9.62 pg/mL); P < 0.001], but not across forearm muscle. Arterial plasma concentrations of IL-6 correlated significantly with body mass index (Spearman’s …