IMMUNOMETABOLISM

The research field "Immunometabolism" studies intracellular metabolic pathways in immune cells that affect their function. Principally, cells flexibly utilize the available energy substrates using different metabolic pathways. Recent findings highlight that the use of distinct metabolic pathways directly regulates immune cell function. For example, immune cells that are acutely activated during a bacterial infection in order to kill the pathogen, rely on fermentation as a metabolic pathway to break down sugar. In contrast, cells responsible for tissue repair after the infection is cleared, prefer respiration to break down sugar. To date it is not understood why immune cells switch metabolism and how this switch alters their function. Current knowledge of immune metabolism is based primarily on in vitro experiments. However, the metabolic environment in the cell culture dish differs largely from the conditions in our body and is also different in the individual organs. The concentration..

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