Our data indicate that acute exposure to high levels of PAL, typical of obesity, results in a pro-inflammatory state in primary exocrine pancreas cells, expressed by significant elevation in TNF-α, IL-6 and TGF-β transcript and protein levels, compared with OL exposure and control untreated cells, which showed low and comparable levels of inflammatory cytokines. Here, TGFB1 is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.