Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, Metabolic Syndrome Research Center of Central South University, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States.
Front Immunol. 2018 Aug 30;9:1961. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01961. eCollection 2018.
Evidence accumulated over the past few years has documented a critical role for adipose tissue (AT)-resident immune cells in the regulation of local and systemic metabolic homeostasis. In the lean state, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is predominated by anti-inflammatory T-helper 2 (Th2) and regulatory T (Treg) cell subsets. As obesity progresses, the population of Th2 and Treg cells decreases while that of the T-helper 1 (Th1) and T-helper 17 (Th17) cells increases, leading to augmented inflammation and insulin resistance. Notably, recent studies also suggest a potential role of CD4 T cells in the control of thermogenesis and energy homeostasis. In this review, we have summarized recent advances in understanding the characteristics and functional roles of AT CD4 T cell subsets during obesity and energy expenditure. We have also discussed new findings on the crosstalk between CD4 T cells and local antigen-presenting cells (APCs) including adipocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) to regulate AT function and metabolic homeostasis. Finally, we have highlighted the therapeutic potential of targeting CD4 T cells as an effective strategy for the treatment of obesity and its associated metabolic diseases.
在过去的几年中，积累的证据证明了脂肪组织（AT）驻留免疫细胞在调节局部和全身代谢稳态中的关键作用。在瘦的状态下，内脏脂肪组织（VAT）主要由抗炎性辅助性 T 细胞 2（Th2）和调节性 T（Treg）细胞亚群组成。随着肥胖的进展，Th2 和 Treg 细胞的数量减少，而辅助性 T 细胞 1（Th1）和辅助性 T 细胞 17（Th17）细胞的数量增加，导致炎症和胰岛素抵抗加剧。值得注意的是，最近的研究还表明 CD4 T 细胞在控制产热和能量稳态方面可能发挥作用。在这篇综述中，我们总结了最近在理解肥胖和能量消耗过程中 AT CD4 T 细胞亚群的特征和功能作用方面的进展。我们还讨论了 CD4 T 细胞与局部抗原呈递细胞（APC）（包括脂肪细胞、巨噬细胞和树突状细胞（DC））之间相互作用的新发现，以调节 AT 功能和代谢稳态。最后，我们强调了靶向 CD4 T 细胞作为治疗肥胖及其相关代谢性疾病的有效策略的治疗潜力。
