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Nutrient and immune sensing are obligate pathways in metabolism, immunity, and disease
Author(s) -
Iyer Abishek,
Brown Lindsay,
Whitehead Jonathan P.,
Prins Johannes B.,
Fairlie David P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fj.15-271155
Subject(s) - immune system , nutrient sensing , biology , paracrine signalling , autocrine signalling , immunity , cell metabolism , disease , pattern recognition receptor , innate immune system , immunosenescence , signal transduction , receptor , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , endocrinology , metabolism , medicine , genetics
The growth and survival of multicellular organisms depend upon their abilities to acquire and metabolize nutrients, efficiently store and harness energy, and sense and fight infection. Systems for sensing and using nutrients have consequently coevolved alongside systems for sensing and responding to danger signals, including pathogens, and share many of the same cell signaling proteins and networks. Diets rich in carbohydrates and fats can overload these systems, leading to obesity, metabolic dysfunction, impaired immunity, and cardiovascular disease. Excessive nutrient intake promotes adiposity, typically altering adipocyte function and immune cell distribution, both of which trigger metabolic dysfunction. Here, we discuss novel mechanistic links between metabolism and immunity that underlie metabolic dysfunction in obesity. We aim to stimulate debate about how the endocrine and immune systems are connected through autocrine, paracrine, and neuroendocrine signaling in sophisticated networks that are only now beginning to be resolved. Understanding the expression and action of signaling proteins, together with modulating their receptors or pattern recognition using agonists or antagonists, will enable rational intervention in immunometabolism that may lead to novel treatments for obesity and metabolic dysfunction.—Iyer, A., Brown, L., Whitehead, J. P., Prins, J. B., Fairlie, D. P. Nutrient and immune sensing are obligate pathways in metabolism, immunity, and disease. FASEB J. 29, 3612‐3625 (2015). www.fasebj.org