Display options
Cite
Pinzon Grimaldos A, Bini S, Pacella I, et al. The role of lipid metabolism in shaping the expansion and the function of regulatory T cells. Clin Exp Immunol. 2021;doi: 10.1093/cei/uxab033.
Pinzon Grimaldos, A., Bini, S., Pacella, I., Rossi, A., Di Costanzo, A., Minicocci, I., D'Erasmo, L., Arca, M., & Piconese, S. (2021). The role of lipid metabolism in shaping the expansion and the function of regulatory T cells. Clinical and experimental immunology, . https://doi.org/10.1093/cei/uxab033
Pinzon Grimaldos, Alessandra, et al. "The role of lipid metabolism in shaping the expansion and the function of regulatory T cells." Clinical and experimental immunology vol. (2021). doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cei/uxab033
Pinzon Grimaldos A, Bini S, Pacella I, Rossi A, Di Costanzo A, Minicocci I, D'Erasmo L, Arca M, Piconese S. The role of lipid metabolism in shaping the expansion and the function of regulatory T cells. Clin Exp Immunol. 2021 Dec 15; doi: 10.1093/cei/uxab033. Epub 2021 Dec 15. PMID: 35020862.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Clin Exp Immunol. 2021 Dec 15; doi: 10.1093/cei/uxab033. Epub 2021 Dec 15.

The role of lipid metabolism in shaping the expansion and the function of regulatory T cells.

Clinical and experimental immunology

Alessandra Pinzon Grimaldos, Simone Bini, Ilenia Pacella, Alessandra Rossi, Alessia Di Costanzo, Ilenia Minicocci, Laura D'Erasmo, Marcello Arca, Silvia Piconese

Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Clinical, Anesthesiological and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
  2. Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
  3. Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy.
  4. Neuroimmunology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 35020862 DOI: 10.1093/cei/uxab033

Abstract

Metabolic inflammation, defined as a chronic low-grade inflammation, is implicated in numerous metabolic diseases. In recent years, the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) as key controllers of metabolic inflammation has emerged, but our comprehension on how different metabolic pathways influence Treg functions needs a deeper understanding. Here we focus on how circulating and intracellular lipid metabolism, in particular cholesterol metabolism, regulates Treg homeostasis, expansion, and functions. Cholesterol is carried through the bloodstream by circulating lipoproteins (chylomicrons, very low-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins). Tregs are equipped with a wide array of metabolic sensors able to perceive and respond to changes in the lipid environment through the activation of different intracellular pathways thus conferring to these cells a crucial metabolic and functional plasticity. Nevertheless, altered cholesterol transport, as observed in genetic dyslipidemias and atherosclerosis, impairs Treg proliferation and function through defective cellular metabolism. The intracellular pathway devoted to the cholesterol synthesis is the mevalonate pathway and several studies have shown that this pathway is essential for Treg stability and suppressive activity. High cholesterol concentrations in the extracellular environment may induce massive accumulation of cholesterol inside the cell thus impairing nutrients sensors and inhibiting the mevalonate pathway. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the role of circulating and cellular cholesterol metabolism in the regulation of Treg metabolism and functions. In particular, we will discuss how different pathological conditions affecting cholesterol transport may affect cellular metabolism in Tregs.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Immunology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Keywords: Treg; atherosclerosis; cholesterol; dyslipidemia; lipoproteins

Publication Types