Institute of Immunology, PLA, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Department of Dermatology, 181st Hospital of PLA, Guilin, China.
Obes Rev. 2016 Jun;17(6):485-98. doi: 10.1111/obr.12397. Epub 2016 Mar 7.
The increased prevalence of obesity worldwide has been accompanied by increases in risk and rates of obesity-associated metabolic dysfunctions, such as insulin resistance. The chronic, low-grade inflammatory condition of obesity highlights the pathophysiological link between the immune system and the metabolic system, which has yet to be fully understood. Recent studies of obesity have started to uncover potential regulatory roles for the innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), which under normal conditions serve to regulate development of lymphoid tissue and function of the mucosal immune system. The ILCs are a newly identified immune cell population with complicated composition and subsequently diverse and dynamic functions. Studies to determine the distribution profile of the various ILCs in adipose tissue provide intriguing clues as to their regulatory capacity in obesity and its associated metabolic dysfunctions. Here, we review the recent findings supporting a role for ILCs as regulators of obesity or its associated insulin resistance, and discuss the potential underlying molecular mechanism as well as its promise as a therapeutic target for clinical applications. © 2016 World Obesity.
全球肥胖患病率的上升伴随着肥胖相关代谢功能障碍（如胰岛素抵抗）风险和发生率的增加。肥胖的慢性、低度炎症状态突出了免疫系统和代谢系统之间的病理生理联系，但这尚未得到充分理解。最近对肥胖的研究开始揭示先天淋巴细胞（ILC）的潜在调节作用，在正常情况下，ILC 有助于调节淋巴组织的发育和粘膜免疫系统的功能。ILC 是一种新发现的免疫细胞群体，具有复杂的组成，随后具有多样化和动态的功能。研究确定各种 ILC 在脂肪组织中的分布情况，为它们在肥胖及其相关代谢功能障碍中的调节能力提供了有趣的线索。在这里，我们回顾了最近的发现，这些发现支持 ILC 作为肥胖或其相关胰岛素抵抗的调节剂的作用，并讨论了潜在的潜在分子机制及其作为临床应用治疗靶点的前景。
