Nutritional and stress effects on immunologic function

Immune cell function and metabolism are closely linked. Alterations in cellular metabolism influence cell function. The best studied example of critical energy changes are in T cells. Naïve T cells utilize oxidative phosphorylation of lipids, amino acids, and glucose-derived pyruvate. Once activated, they increase glucose uptake, glycolysis, and reduction of pyruvate to lactate, a process aptly named aerobic glycolysis. Less well understood, however, are the effects of systemic metabolism or whole organism nutritional status on immune cell function and metabolism. Emerging epidemiological and basic studies are now elucidating dietary and other metabolic effects on immune function.