Natural Metabolite Can Suppress Inflammation
An international group of scientists from US, Canada, Germany and Russia has revealed a substance produced in humans that can suppress the pro-inflammatory activity of macrophages – specific cells of immune system. The substance known as itaconate is released in large quantities by macrophages themselves, but until now its role remained poorly studied. Now scientists have found evidence that itaconate acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. These properties make itaconate promising for the treatment of pathologies caused by excessive inflammation or oxidative stress. Such conditions may be associated with cardiac ischemia, metabolic disorders and perhaps autoimmune diseases. The findings were published in Cell Metabolism.
The work, which united scientists from Washington University in St. Louis, ITMO University, McGill University and Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, was based on the study of macrophages – immune system cells in charge of fighting pathogens. An important feature of macrophages is their ability to switch between different states depending on the concentration of various substances in the body. In total, there are three such states: M0 – neutral, M1 – pro-inflammatory and M2 anti-inflammatory.
M1 macrophages are the first who arrive to fight the infection. As they begin to swallow viruses and bacteria, an intense inflammatory process kicks in. This process may adversely affect the entire organism if the macrophages become overly diligent. Inflammation consumes energy resources of the organism and can lead to numerous complications or even death. That is why in order to mitigate the negative consequences of immune response, it is important to understand how we can reduce the excessive proinflammatory effect of macrophages.
An in-depth study of macrophage metabolism during their transition from inactive to proinflammatory state helped researchers identify the substance that could suppress macrophage-related inflammations. Describing the working mechanism of this substance called itaconate became possible due to a complex map of metabolic pathways in macrophages that was developed by the group...
