Journal Article

Immunometabolism of regulatory T cells

Newton, Ryan, Turka, Laurence A, Priyadharshini, Bhavana

2016

Overview

Whole-body metabolism can affect immune-cell function and vice versa. Turka and colleagues review the unique metabolic properties of T reg cells and how this relates to their function and the outcome of immune responses. The bidirectional interaction between the immune system and whole-body metabolism has been well recognized for many years. Via effects on adipocytes and hepatocytes, immune cells can modulate whole-body metabolism (in metabolic syndromes such as type 2 diabetes and obesity) and, reciprocally, host nutrition and commensal-microbiota-derived metabolites modulate immunological homeostasis. Studies demonstrating the metabolic similarities of proliferating immune cells and cancer cells have helped give birth to the new field of immunometabolism, which focuses on how the cell-intrinsic metabolic properties of lymphocytes and macrophages can themselves dictate the fate and function of the cells and eventually shape an immune response. We focus on this aspect here, particularly as it relates to regulatory T cells.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group US,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/250/1619/554/1898/1271 / 631/250/2152/569/2495 / Adipocytes / Adipocytes - immunology / Animals / Biomedicine / Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent) / Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - immunology / Hepatocytes / Homeostasis / Humans / Immune response / Immune system / Immunity / Immunological research / Immunology / Immunoregulation / Infectious Diseases / Lymphocytes / Lymphocytes T / Macrophages / Macrophages - metabolism / Metabolic disorders / Metabolic syndrome / Metabolic Syndrome - immunology / Metabolites / Microbiota / Obesity - immunology / Peripheral Tolerance / Physiological aspects / review-article / T cells / T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - metabolism