Obesity is often associated with low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance, which can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. Now, Stolarczyk et al. report that mice lacking expression of the immune cell-specific transcriptional regulator T-bet are prone to obesity, but are also more sensitive to insulin than wild-type mice. Increased insulin sensitivity appeared early in life and depended on the adaptive immune system. Notably, the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and the levels of several cytokines were decreased, whereas the frequency of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells was increased in the visceral (but not subcutaneous) adipose tissue depots of T-bet-deficient mice. Future studies will clarify the mechanisms through which T-bet expression in adaptive immune cells decouples obesity from insulin resistance.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Stolarczyk, E. et al. Improved insulin sensitivity despite increased visceral adiposity in mice deficient for the immune cell transcription factor T-bet. Cell Metab. 17, 520–533 (2013)
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Papatriantafyllou, M. A role for T-bet in metabolic regulation. Nat Rev Immunol 13, 305 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3457
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3457