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Gastroenterology

Proline fuels ILC3s to maintain gut health

Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) maintain intestinal barrier integrity and nutrient absorption via IL-22; however, little is known about how these immune cells fuel effector function. Wu et al. now report that uptake of dietary proline acts as a critical metabolic modulator of the ILC3 transcriptome and cytokine production to maintain gut health.

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Fig. 1: Dietary proline regulates ILC3 responses to prevent intestinal inflammation.

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Acknowledgements

M.R.H. is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (grant number 105644/Z/14/Z), a BBSRC responsive mode grant (BB/T014482/1) and a Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine Prize.

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Correspondence to Matthew R. Hepworth.

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Hepworth, M.R. Proline fuels ILC3s to maintain gut health. Nat Metab 5, 1848–1849 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00895-8

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