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Gut immune cells have a role in food metabolism

The gut is an active site of immune defence against disease-causing microbes. A study in mice shows that a type of immune cell in the gut’s wall also helps to regulate sugar and fat metabolism.
  1. Daria Esterházy

    1. Daria Esterházy is in the Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.

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  2. Daniel Mucida

    1. Daniel Mucida is in the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA.

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The intestine has a large number of immune cells, which help to repair tissues and defend against microbial infection. The one-cell-thick lining of the gut (the intestinal epithelium) is the interface between the core of the body and the intestinal space, which is constantly exposed to food and to gut-resident and invasive microbes. The intestinal epithelium contains a type of immune cell called an intestinal intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL). Writing in Nature, He et al.1 show that, in addition to their immune function, IELs have a role in the control of the body’s metabolism by regulating levels of a hormone that is released after food consumption.

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Nature 566, 49-50 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00235-5

References

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