Journal: Signal transduction and targeted therapy
This review outlines how lipid metabolism shapes immune cell function and its relevance to human disease and therapy.
Key points:
- Scope of the review: The authors summarize the historical development and major milestones in lipid metabolism research and integrate this with current understanding of immune cell biology.
- Lipid metabolism in immune cells: They describe how macrophages, T cells, B cells, and neutrophils depend on lipid acquisition, synthesis, transport, and signaling for:
- Proliferation
- Differentiation (e.g., lineage commitment, effector vs regulatory phenotypes)
- Activation and effector functions
- Mechanistic layers of regulation: The review emphasizes multilevel control of lipid metabolism in immune cells:
- Genetic regulation
- Epigenetic mechanisms
- Posttranscriptional regulation (e.g., RNA-level control)
- Posttranslational modification of proteins
These regulatory tiers collectively influence immune cell behavior and responses.
- Disease relevance: Dysregulated lipid metabolism in immune cells is linked to:
- Autoimmune diseases
- Cancer
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Aging-related changes
- Metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes)
- Therapeutic implications: The authors review:
- Existing and emerging strategies that target lipid metabolism to modulate immunity
- Ongoing global clinical trial efforts in this area
- Future directions, including development of lipid-derived biomarkers and novel therapeutic approaches based on manipulating lipid-immune interactions.