Review Articles

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are an integral part of the innate immune system. This Review discusses how ILC function is regulated by both intrinsic and extrinsic metabolic pathways, and how ILCs contribute to metabolic disease.

Bar-Peled and Kory discuss how metabolic compartmentalization, defined as the spatial and temporal separation of pathways and components within a system, can shape organismal metabolism, while its dysregulation can lead to pathological states.

The author discusses how metabolic engagements and reconfiguration of immune and non-immune cells following virus recognition modulate the natural course of viral infections, and how such early metabolic alterations are likely to influence longer-term disease manifestations of infection.

This Review summarizes emerging concepts for diabetes therapy aimed at specifically altering β cell biology and function, such as β cell insulin signalling, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, as well as the selective killing of senescent β cells.

Measurements of oxygen consumption rates have been central to the resurgent interest in studying cellular metabolism. To enhance the overall reproducibility and reliability of these measurements, Divakaruni and Jastroch provide a guide advising on the selection of experimental models and instrumentation as well as the analysis and interpretation of data.

Nampoothiri et al. discuss the most recent literature that places glial cells as key mediators of energy balance through integration of peripheral signals in discrete brain regions, highlighting the relevance of glia in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases.

The hindbrain is mostly known to participate in eating behaviour by controlling short-term meal parameters and aversive responses to gut malaise. Cheng et al. review current evidence revealing non-aversive neuronal circuits in the hindbrain that are relevant for initiation and termination of homeostatic feeding, as well as for the long-term control of body weight.

Alcantara and Miranda-Tapia et al. discuss the central mechanisms that dictate eating behaviour, by dissecting the neural circuits involved in food procurement, food consumption, and meal termination.

Ozanne and colleagues discuss the evidence of sex differences in the response to suboptimal pre-conceptual and in utero environments, detail the biological mechanisms underlying the intergenerational inheritance of metabolic traits, and show how these sex differences can manifest as metabolic disease in adults.

Tilg et al. explore how metabolic dysfunction, altered gut microbiome and dysregulated innate and adaptive immunity contribute to NAFLD and how the interplay between these factors mediates disease progression.

Zechner and colleagues discuss mechanisms facilitating the mobilization of intracellular fatty acids and how they affect lipid-mediated signalling, metabolic regulation and energy homeostasis in health and disease.

Wiley and Campisi discuss metabolic inducers of senescence and alterations in cellular metabolism associated with senescence, while pointing out interventions that target metabolic processes to mitigate senescence.

Adipose tissue has emerged as a highly heterogeneous organ. Sun et al. discuss the heterogeneity of thermogenic adipocytes and their precursors, highlighting the single-cell technologies that help to characterize adipose tissues in depth.

Schwartz et al. review mechanisms through which the central nervous system achieves metabolic homeostasis in the basal and postprandial states, and how dysfunction of this integrated central fuel homeostasis control system can contribute to metabolic disease.

Evers et al. explore the interconnection between cellular mechanics and metabolism, emerging paradigms and the role of this interaction in cancer, cardiovascular disease and fibrosis.

Cancer cells undergo metabolic rewiring to support unrestrained proliferation, but dependence on oncogenesis-supportive metabolites could be leveraged therapeutically. Geeraerts et al. explore the centrality of serine and glycine metabolism to cancer survival, and how targeting the de novo serine and glycine synthesis pathways can complement current therapies.

The tumour microenvironment (TME) is a unique cellular and metabolic landscape. Elia and Haigis describe how metabolism influences, and is affected by, the complexity of cellular interactions within the TME and highlight opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

Cellular metabolism has emerged as a major biological node governing cellular behaviour. In their review, Boon et al. explore the mechanisms that maintain nuclear metabolic compartmentalization and the regulation of epigenetics, cell fate and cell physiology by nuclear metabolism.

Franco et al, review how metabolic insufficiency and prolonged stress responses impact signaling cascades and epigenetic reprogramming to lock T cells into an exhausted state.

Exercise is a powerful modifier of organismal, tissue and cellular metabolism. In their Review, Koelwyn et al. highlight how exercise-induced alterations in the tumour microenvironment can affect immunometabolic mechanisms and how these changes may contribute to the benefits of exercise on cancer initiation and progression.