Ito Ayaka
Department of Molecular Medicine and Metabolism, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
Department of Immunometabolism, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Endocr J. 2025 Sep 5;72(9):979-985. doi: 10.1507/endocrj.EJ25-0180. Epub 2025 May 27.
Immune cells undergo substantial metabolic rewiring during differentiation and activation to satisfy the energy demands of an appropriate immune response. Lipids serve as energy sources and function as essential components of cellular membranes and signaling molecules. Recent studies have revealed that reprogramming of lipid metabolism, including lipid uptake, de novo synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids, and fatty acid oxidation, leads to dynamic alterations in the quantity and quality of intracellular lipids. These metabolic changes play crucial roles in shaping immune cell functions, promoting anti-inflammatory responses, and facilitating the resolution of inflammation. Conversely, dysregulation of lipid metabolism can result in immune cell dysfunction, contributing to the onset and progression of chronic inflammatory diseases such as autoimmune diseases and metabolic syndrome. Notably, cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism influence immune responses by modulating membrane lipid composition and downstream inflammatory signaling. Given these insights, targeting lipid metabolism has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach for restoring immune homeostasis and treating chronic inflammatory diseases.
免疫细胞在分化和激活过程中会经历大量的代谢重编程，以满足适当免疫反应的能量需求。脂质作为能量来源，并作为细胞膜和信号分子的重要组成部分发挥作用。最近的研究表明，脂质代谢的重编程，包括脂质摄取、胆固醇和脂肪酸的从头合成以及脂肪酸氧化，会导致细胞内脂质的数量和质量发生动态变化。这些代谢变化在塑造免疫细胞功能、促进抗炎反应以及促进炎症消退方面发挥着关键作用。相反，脂质代谢失调会导致免疫细胞功能障碍，促进自身免疫性疾病和代谢综合征等慢性炎症性疾病的发生和发展。值得注意的是，胆固醇和脂肪酸代谢通过调节膜脂质组成和下游炎症信号来影响免疫反应。鉴于这些见解，靶向脂质代谢已成为恢复免疫稳态和治疗慢性炎症性疾病的一种有前景的治疗方法。
