Inflammation and the related immune responses are energetically expensive
processes, defending against pathogens and maintaining tissue homeostasis. As a result,
immune response and metabolic regulation are highly integrated, allowing organisms to
adapt to changes in their internal and external environments. Many nutrient- and
pathogen-sensing system share common signaling pathways and have been
evolutionarily conserved. Studies over the past decade have demonstrated that
inflammation is a key feature of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and various cardiovascular
disease states. In the context of over nutrition, shifts in tissue metabolism are
accompanied with waves of profound recruitment of inflammatory cells (monocytes
and lymphocytes) and high proliferation rates among lymphocyte populations. In this
chapter, we review recent work addressing metabolic control of inflammation and
immunity as well as the molecular aspects of metabolic inflammation converging to
insulin resistance. It is crucial to explore the question of causality between the state of
chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunctions seen in obesity, and therefore
developing effective therapeutic strategies to cope with the current worldwide obesity
epidemic.
Keywords: Immune cell, Inflammation, Insulin resistance, Metabolism, Obesity,
Over nutrition.
