The Bidirectional Relationship between Metabolism and Immune Responses

Abstract

Immunometabolism investigates the multiple links between the immune system and metabolism. One main focus of immunometabolism investigates how obesity impacts the immune system and pro-inflammatory immune cell function, leading to metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). The second focus stresses the metabolic changes that dictate immune cell activation. Several groups have studied these two arms of the field individually, but work that integrates both topics will be required to develop an accurate understanding of how immune cells and metabolic pathways collaborate in obesity and obesity-associated T2D. Investigations of the relationships among obesity-induced changes in the nutritional environment, immune cell activation, and immune cell metabolism may lead to novel and efficacious therapies for obesity-associated disorders such as insulin resistance (IR) and T2D. This review outlines recent insights into two related processes: 1. the role that energy utilization plays in immune responses and 2. the immune cell functions that drive obesity and T2D. Herein, we begin to consider how shifts in available fuel sources in obesity and T2D impact the immune response to both pathogens and chronic over nutrition.

Advances in the quantification of mitochondrial function in primary human immune cells through extracellular flux analysis

“…Many recent insights in the field of immunometabolism have focused on roles immune cells play in obesity-associated inflammation, but parallel development of the more traditional branch of immunometabolism aimed at understanding the generation of ATP for immune responses has also accelerated over the past decade [ 15 ]. Fuel sources and fuel utilization are now recognized as key regulators of immune responses that include CD4 + T cell and macrophage subset skewing, memory T cell formation/maintenance and B cell function [ 16 – 22 ].…”

Remodelling of primary human CD4+T cell plasma membrane order byn-3 PUFA

“…Numerous studies show that mitochondrial energy generation determines the effectiveness of immune responses (43)(44)(45)(46)(47) . Over the past decade, our understanding of the metabolic requirements for the generation of ATP in immune cells has increased dramatically (48) . Fuel sources and fuel utilisation are now recognised as key regulators of immunological functions in CD4 + T cells.…”

Progress in interventional cardiology: challenges for the future

“…Also, second generation BMS feature reduced stent strut dimensions. These stent improvements helped to reduce also ISR rates; however, complex, instable lesions (36), characterised by thin fibrous cap, concomitant with accumulation of large cholesterol crystals and marked infiltration with inflammatory cells (37)(38)(39), are still characterised by an elevated incidence of ISR (40,41). These lesions are triggered by the bidirectional effect of metabolic conditions on inflammatory response, such as in risk patients with diabetes mellitus (37) or renale failure (42).…”